But in Florida, a few stations picked it up over the Christmas season, and folks vacationing there heard it and requested the song in cities up north. They ended up conjuring up songs such as “Ode to the Centipede” and “Do the Donkey Kong.”Īt first, when Columbia released the single, it didn’t get much airplay. Over two weeks, Buckner and Garcia visited arcades to get inspiration, asking regular players what was hot. Soon, Columbia Records - home to the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel - got wind of the song and signed Buckner and Garcia to a record deal.īut Columbia didn’t just want a one-off song: they needed an entire album full of songs about hit arcade games. ![]() ![]() The station got a surprisingly huge response from its listeners. (Neither Morrison nor McKee, when reached for comment, recall the details with any clarity.) A copy landed on the desk of program director Jim Morrison, who decided to spin it one morning when regular host Gary McKee was on vacation, according to Buckner. But he knew the folks at 94Q, the popular Atlanta pop station. Geller, who passed away recently, pitched the song to major labels in New York but was roundly rejected. “That really captured the time,” Buckner said. This is when Garcia came up with the opening line, “I got a pocket full of quarters, and I’m headed to the arcade.” Geller liked it and allowed them to record the song in his studio. They presented the idea to Arnie Geller, producer for such acts as rock band Atlanta Rhythm Section and disco queen Alicia Bridges. Garcia had an idea: create a silly song, and if it does well, it might boost their jingle career.īuckner fiddled with the melody, and Garcia massaged the lyrics. While playing a table-top version of Pac-Man, they became addicted like many others. In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Buckner recalled working at a studio in Marietta with Garcia and going to dinner at Shillings on the Square. ![]() Buckner also recently came out with an online book called "Pac-Man Fever: The Story Behind the Unlikely '80s Hit That Defined a Word-Wide Craze." ( Buy it here) To celebrate the game's 40th anniversary, several living members from the original band got together last week for a livestream and released a special 2020 "Pac-Man Fever" version synced to an old video of the late Garcia performing the vocals. Millions of kids and adults dropped quarters into the machine, obsessed with the chomping yellow character running around a maze, eating pills and avoiding colorful bad guys Shadow, Pokey, Bashful and Speedy. Just what the man cave ordered.The top 40 charts in the early 1980s were packed with oddball pop hits such as Stars on 45’s Beatles medley “Hooked on Classics,” a mixture of classical songs set to a disco beat and a top 10 novelty called “Pac-Man Fever,” created at the time by Atlanta jingle writers Jerry Bucker and Gary Garcia.īuckner and Garcia at the time were leveraging a hot craze, a game that landed in thousands of arcades, pizza places and bars nationwide. Get the mates around and beat them at Galaga, or teach the kids where it all started with Frogger and Pacman. Just what the man cave ordered.Ĭue Power Billiards’ classic 2 player cocktail arcade machine, preloaded with all your old school favourites! CHEAPEST PRICE IN AUSTRALIA!! DELIVERY AUSTRALIA WIDE!!Ĭlassic 2 player cocktail arcade machine, preloaded with all your old school favourites! Get the mates around and beat them at Galaga, or teach the kids where it all started with Frogger and Pacman.
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