Formed in 1972 in Akron, Ohio, the American duo Buckner & Garcia scored an unlikely pop hit with 1982's "Pac-Man Fever," a double-platinum tribute to the titular arcade game. Bandmates Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia began recording novelty songs with 1972's "Gotta Hear the Beat," which they released under the name "Animal Jack." The holiday single "Merry Christmas in the NFL" followed in 1980. The pair then co-wrote a musical accompaniment to the religious poem "Footprints in the Sand," which was recorded by vocalist Edgel Groves and released in 1981. Titled "Frontprints," the song became a crossover hit, climbing to Number 1 on the American country and Christian charts. "Pac-Man Fever" arrived at the end of 1981 and became a regional hit, which lead to a record deal with Columbia/CBS Records and a national release in 1982. The kitschy song peaked at Number 9 in both America and Canada, although its accompanying album — Pac-Man Fever, featuring eight songs inspired by early-'80s video games — failed to fare as well as its titular single. Dropped by their label, Buckner & Garcia continued collaborating together for decades, co-writing a number of radio jingles and performing songs for Waffle House's table-side jukeboxes. Garcia passed away in November 2011, and Buckner co-wrote the song "Wreck It, Wreck-It Ralph!" for the Disney film Wreck-It Ralph one year later.
