# How Two Jingle Writers Turned a Sudden Video Game Obsession Into a Hit Novelty Song in 1981

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/how-two-jingle-writers-turned-a-sudden-video-game-obsession-into-a-hit-novelty-song-in-1981/
- Published: 2026-08-12T15:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-12T15:15:03+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/how-two-jingle-writers-turned-a-sudden-video-game-obsession-into-a-hit-novelty-song-in-1981/
- Topics: Entertainment, Gaming, Music

## Key points

- Jingle writers made Pac-Man into a timely 1981 novelty hit.
- Arcade sound effects helped make “Pac-Man Fever” distinctive.
- The hit prompted an entire album about video games.

## Summary

In 1981, Georgia jingle writers Gary Garcia and Jerry Buckner turned their sudden enthusiasm for Pac-Man into “Pac-Man Fever”, a novelty song that became a hit as arcade gaming surged in popularity. Its success showed how quickly popular culture could be converted into music when the subject, timing and a memorable hook aligned.

After seeing crowds gathered around a Pac-Man machine, the pair played for hours and wrote a song referencing the game’s ghosts, fruit bonuses and addictive gameplay. They recorded the arcade sounds directly from the machine, and although record labels were initially hesitant, radio airplay helped the song take off in 1982; its popularity then led to an album featuring songs about games including Donkey Kong, Defender and Centipede.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.