Elmo Shropshire
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Elmo Shropshire (born October 26, 1936 in Lexington, Kentucky), better known as Dr. Elmo, is a singer of comedy songs, most notably "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." He originally recorded the song in 1979 with his then-wife Patsy. He re-recorded it solo in 1992 for the album Dr. Elmo's Twisted Christmas and again in 2000 for the album Up Your Chimney. He also recorded two albums of year-round songs: Dr. Elmo's Twisted Tunes (1993) and Love, Death and Taxes (2000).
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[edit] Early life
Elmo is a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and has a degree in veterinary medicine. After moving to San Francisco, he opened an animal hospital and became a competitive runner, all while continuing to play with his bluegrass band.
[edit] Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
In 1979, Shropshire recorded "Grandma..." (written by his friend Randy Brooks) and became an instant regional superstar.
Elmo originally invested $40,000 of his own money to produce the original album and music video for "Grandma..." and in return, he's become "a millionaire five times over" [1]. Since then, Elmo has become part of a class action suit against Sony based upon the royalties paid from digital downloads and ringtone sales. [2]
In a Christmas special, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," Dr. Elmo is the voice of Grandpa, and performs a small portion of a song, "Grandma's Spending Christmas with The Superstars."
[edit] Personal
Shropshire lives in Novato, California.[3] He and Patsy divorced in 1985.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ "How to make a million dollars" (in English). Kiplinger's Personal Finance. http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Savemoney/P103041.asp#2. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
- ^ Napoli, Lisa (2006-10-30). "Ringtone royalties" (in English) (Audio with transcript). Marketplace. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2006/10/30/AM200610302.html.
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2007-11-27-grandma-reindeer_N.htm
- ^ http://www.pacificsun.com/story_archives/dr_elmo.html
[edit] Discography
Elmo & Patsy - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, 1983
Dr. Elmo's Twisted Christmas, 1992
Dr. Elmo's Twisted Tunes, 1993
Dr. Elmo - Love, Death, and Taxes, 2000
Dr. Elmo - Up Your Chimney, 2000
Dr. Elmo's MisceLOONYous Tunes, 2000
Dr. Elmo - Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, 2002
Dr. Elmo - Christmas in the U.S.A., 2004
Dr. Elmo Sings the Boos, 2005
Redneck Dracula, 2006 (Dr. Elmo on 6 songs and The Halloween Ghouls on 4)
