Buckner And Garcia

Buckner & Garcia are a duo consisting of Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia. Their first collaboration was in 1980, when they wrote a novelty Christmas song, "Merry Christmas in the NFL", about Howard Cosell as Santa Claus. Performed under the pseudonym "Willis The Guard & Vigorish", the song reached #82 on the Billboard charts[1] despite limited airplay after Cosell found the song offensive. In 1981, they wrote a sentimental country song called "Footprints in the Sand", performed by Edgel Groves. They also wrote the lyrics for extra verses to an extended version of the WKRP in Cincinnati theme song in 1982. However, they are most known for the song "Pac-Man Fever", which became a large novelty hit in 1982, peaking at #9 in the United States.[2] Later the same year, after the song became a hit, they signed a record deal with Columbia Records. According to interviews, they never wanted to become a novelty act known for video game songs, but when they signed with Columbia Records, the company insisted on a full album of video game songs, though they had intended to write a more varied collection of pop music. They complied despite their misgivings, and released Pac-Man Fever, a full album consisting entirely of songs about arcade video games.[3] The rest of their band consisted of Ginny Whitaker (drums), Larry McDonald (bass guitar), Chris Bowman (lead and rhythm guitar), Rick Hinkle (lead and rhythm guitar on "Pac-Man Fever", "Mousetrap" and "Goin' Berserk"), Mike Stewart (Moog synthesizer on "Mousetrap", and "Goin' Berserk"), and David "Cozy" Cole (syndrum). Steve Carlisle and Sharon Scott provided background vocals on "Pac-Man Fever".