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October 26, 1936.

Elmo Shropshire was born October 26, 1936. He lives now on an estate in Marin County, one spacious enough for tame deer to roam. The path to this luxury was not all sunny. Shropshire worked his way through college and veterinary school (Auburn) after his parents were both killed in a head on crash. He wound up with a small animal clinic in San Francisco, a bit of a hayseed at the height of Haight-Asbury's fame. 


Shropshire's hobby was blue grass music and he and a friend wrote a song which against many odds became very famous: “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” What was meant as a gag gift for his friends became "No. 1 on the Billboard holiday charts in 1983." The song sold over 11 million copies. The result is a holiday classic. Lesser known is the story about the author of this song, a story told by Candice Michelle Dyer. a Georgia writer.

We got the information above from her blog and also learn that Shropshire's only concern was "' some unsettling competition from the meowing 'Jingle Cats'—'I’d like to neuter them,'  Shropshire famously quipped in an interview..... "

But “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” has survived all competition, and his “heartwarmingly grotesque” song  has saved him from a life spent "worming cats." In fact according to Dyer, Shropshire’s company, Laughing Stock Records, has released a iPhone app based on the song.

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