• WHAT:  - FOR THE DISCRIMINATING ATARI COLLECTOR - What I’m offering for auction is a ULTRA RARE, GENUINE ONE OF KIND ARTIFACT from one of the giants of the Golden age of coin-operated video games, ATARI, and a collaboration with one of the most celebrated music personalities from the ’50’s and ’60’s, CHUBBY CHECKER (“The Twist”). Wait a second… what??? Yes, that’s right, ATARI and CHUBBY CHECKER came together to craft a song that was suppose to be used in their live action, theatrical, commercial that was to promote one of their all-time biggest releases; DIG DUG (1983). The song is very catchy and bares a strong resemblance to Chubby’s most famous song, “The Twist”. The commercial was released in theaters in 1983 (type “ATARI DIG DUG COMMERCIAL” into Google and you’ll find it) and was originally to feature the song as sung by Chubby, but was then replaced by an unrecognizable ’80’s styled band that’s singing and playing the song in the background in the final production. The popular thought as to why Chubby’s vocals were never used, and well after producers had fully mastered the song for the film, is that with Chubby at the helm that it was going to miss it’s target audience, which were kids of the ’80’s. However, Chubby’s style was perfectly suited to the commercial, which featured a ’60’s Cold War atmosphere and it’s a shame that it never got to be heard by the public for 34 years. 

That’s until now! THIS SONG HAS NEVER BEEN RELEASED ANYWHERE and THIS MAY VERY WELL BE THE ONLY REMAINING COPY OF THE SONG IN EXISTENCE. Thankfully the song was well preserved on a cassette that resided in a box in my garage, protected from the elements for over 34 years. About 2 years ago I loaded the song up onto SOUNDCLOUD (type “DIG DUG - SUNG BY CHUBBY CHECKER” into google and you will discover the songs in all it’s glory). 

• PLEASE NOTE: The version of the song as heard on SOUNDCLOUD does NOT represent the quality of the sound that is on the tape, which is actually quite good (the sound quality on SC is dumbed down in order to discourage people from downloading the song). I will gladly include a digital transfer of the song along with the sale of this item. ALSO - THE MAIN PHOTO THAT HAS THAT HAS THE PROMINENT DIG DUG DECALS IS NOT PART OF THIS SET AND WAS ONLY CREATED TO BE USED ON SOUNDCLOUD - IT IS UTILIZED HERE IN ORDER TO BE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO PREVIOUSLY. 

• DETAILS: The song comes on a normal cassette tape and runs a total of 2:12. The Cassette is black with white label that has “ATARI” typed on it, followed by a listing of “1. Dig Dug (Chubby Voc) ). There is a 2nd track on the tape that includes an “2. Alternate :20 Intro”. All this last track represents is the same :20 seconds that plays at the beginning of the first track, but it stops with the trumpets blaring and right before the vocals are suppose to kick in. The rest of the text on the tape reads “6/14/82”, which is the date of the song’s production.

• CONDITION: The cassette looks slightly aged, but is in remarkable condition, as is the quality of the song. It;’s not digital, but it’s all that we have of the song and that’s what the buyer is paying for.  

• ADDITIONALLY: The buyer will also get the actual CLIO AWARD CERTIFICATE (measures 22 X 15 , come framed, but with no glass - see photos) that was awarded to the team behind the film. A CLIO AWARD is the advertising equivalent to getting an ACADEMY AWARD, so it is quite the accomplishment. This award was presented to my father, Donald Osborne, who was VP of ATARI’s coin-operated marketing department. It’ll make a great keep sake and look good on a collector’s wall (I’d put the value of the certificate at $800 to a $1000, as a replacement certificate from the Clio organization would cost $650).

• WHAT YOU GET IN TOTAL: Cassette tape with DIG DUG song, as sung by the legendary Chubby Checker and the CLIO AWARD CERTIFICATE. AGAIN, THIS IS EXTREMELY RARE AND SHOULD BE A HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER PIECE OF MUSIC AND VIDEO GAME HISTORY, SO DON'T MISS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO OBTAIN SOMETHING THAT IS TRULY A LOST, BUT VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE HISTORY OF GAMING. 

NOTE TO BUYERS: Seller is a seasoned member of Ebay and only offers items that meet the most stringent of demands that collectors should have. Payment accepted by PAYPAL ONLY.  (If you do not currently have a PayPal account, please visit www.paypal.com for more information. Setting up an account is easy and its free!) Payment must be settled within 3 days after the end of the auction or I have the right to sell the item to the next highest bidder. BID WITH CONFIDENCE! Please e-mail me if you have any questions. Thanks for looking. Good luck and be sure to check out my other auctions!

Thanks for looking and bidding.  :)