In 1979, Shropshire recorded "
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (written by his friend Randy Brooks). At the time, he was part of a
double act with his then-wife Patsy Trigg; though he effectively recorded the song as a solo record without Trigg's help, they released the record credited as a duet, which he stated was "another story." With the record's release, Elmo & Patsy became regional superstars. They divorced in 1985; Shropshire then married Pam Wendell, a saleswoman who had helped promote the record to retailers. In 2000, he served as co-writer of an
animated Christmas special based on the song. For this television special, he also provided the voices of Grandpa and the narrator. In 2007, Shropshire was sued by the Fred Rappaport Company, the producer of the show, over the right to use the song in show-related merchandise. In 2009, Shropshire appeared on "Good Morning America", and in 2010 he appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On December 23, 2014, Shropshire performed "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" on
The Meredith Vieira Show as part of a segment titled "Real or Fake". On December 24, 2016, Shropshire performed on Fox News Channel's "FOX and Friends." On December 26, 2019, Shropshire was featured in the Wall Street Journal article "What's Your Workout" by Jen Murphy. ==Later years==