That is the easiest way (aside from listening to the 45 itself) to differentiate between the original 1979 Oink #2984 recording and its now-much-more familiar, 1982 re-recording. Re-recorded Oink #2984 45 copies appeared on a white label, not a cream-colored label, however. But this time, Oink chose to handle all nationwide product distribution themselves, ending the old NSD-Soundwaves agreement. In 1982, the duo both re-recorded and re-released the song as a single, again as Oink #2984. Oink Records, still based in Windsor, California, continued distribution of the 45 rpm record in the western U.S., with "Nationwide Sound Distributors" (NSD) of Nashville, Tennessee, pressing and distributing the song on its Soundwaves Records in the eastern U.S., peaking at #92 on the country singles charts. By the early 1980s, the song was becoming a seasonal hit, first on country stations and then on Top 40 stations.
Meanwhile, the duo's names were moved to the bottom of the label, below the song title. Once initial copies had sold out, later-pressed #2984 cream-colored 45 label copies retained the same pig sketch, but decided to both move the sketch, and add the word "Oink", to the top of the 45's label. Initial copies appeared on a cream-colored label, with a sketch of a pig clearly visible, at left. The song was originally self-released in San Francisco by the Shropshires in 1979 on their own record label (on "Elmo 'n' Patsy" #2984), with the B-side titled "Christmas". A year later, they were selling 45s of the song from the stage, with Elmo himself appearing in drag on the album cover as "Grandma". In the music video, where Elmo plays both Grandma and Grandpa and Patsy plays Cousin Mel, Grandma survives the attack and makes a triumphant return through the chimney.Īccording to Brooks, he played the song while sitting in with Elmo and Patsy at the Hyatt Lake Tahoe in December 1978, and after the show they had him make a cassette of the song for them to learn. The upshot is a warning to the listeners that Santa Claus is unfit to carry a driver's license. Christmas dinner otherwise goes on as normal, with a centerpiece of roast goose, figgy pudding for dessert, and "blue and silver candles" to match Grandma's hairpiece. Grandpa seems completely unfazed by his wife's demise and spends the holiday "watching football, drinking beer and playing cards with Cousin Mel," while the rest of the family mourns Grandma's death and wonders if the gifts they bought for her should be returned. She is found the next day, trampled Santa Claus and his reindeer are determined to be the culprits when "incriminating Claus marks" are found on Grandma's back.
The lyrics tell the story of a grandmother celebrating at a Christmas Eve party with her family when, while drunk on eggnog and off her medication, she staggers out into a snowstorm despite everyone imploring her not to.
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