It was a longshot that a Christmas song about a sweet grandmother getting run over by one of Santa’s reindeer would ever make it to a recording studio. An even longer one that it might get airplay. But the longest shot of all was that “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” would become a holiday hit.

Yet that’s exactly what happened. These days, 45 years after its debut, “Grandma” is like ambrosia salad: It gets a lot of hate, a little love, yet it turns up every holiday season.

It all began in 1979 when Auburn University graduate Elmo Shropshire recorded the song. The novelty song was written by Randy Brooks, who offered the song to a married bluegrass duo that performed under the name “Elmo and Patsy,” according to a 2007 article in The Washington Post.

Elmo has said that although the song was released under the couple’s joint performing name, his then-wife Patsy did not take part in the original recording, the Post article said. The couple later divorced and Elmo has since re-recorded the song.

Elmo Shropshire, also known as Dr. Elmo, graduated from Auburn’s veterinary program and worked as a veterinarian until his retirement. He is now 88 years old and lives in San Francisco.

The song hit No. 1 on Billboard’s U.S. Christmas Hits chart from 1983-’85. It is also certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, with more than 500,000 copies sold.

Sony released a new recording in 2002 by Dr. Elmo and, in 2010, Time Life Records released an instrumental version of the song on “Dr. Elmo’s Bluegrass Christmas.” Shropshire recorded a sequel, “Grandpa’s Gonna Sue the Pants Off of Santa” on the 1992 album “Dr. Elmo’s Twisted Christmas.” Hear it here.

In 2000, the WB Network released an animated TV version of the events in the song, although in the show, Grandma survives the attack and, it turns out, Santa wasn’t at fault – it was Cousin Mel! Shropshire narrates the show, according to IMDb. He is also credited as a writer.