Takayuki Inoue Band -- Kizu Darake no Tenshi （傷だらけの天使）

For years, I used to hear this instrumental jingle for a car commercial that sounded as if it came from a Benny Hill episode. I mean, the saxophone in it just sounded so goofy and footloose and fancy-free. Little did I know that it was once the theme song for a popular 1974 detective show, "Kizu Darake no Tenshi" (Battered Angels) on NTV. And I was surprised that it was by the same guys, the Takayuki Inoue Band（井上堯之バンド）, who came up with the iconic theme for the cop show, "Taiyo ni Hoero"（太陽にほえろ）, but then again, there was that sax in that theme, too. Perhaps I should have known. And to cap it all off, I actually had the song amongst the short stack of novelty mini-CDs that I got from my former student as a going-away present.

(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)

Since its use as the theme for "Kizu Darake no Tenshi", it's been recycled over the decades as a jingle for a number of ads, including the one for that aforementioned car. Another ad is for the above, a drink that mixes espresso coffee and soda water....blecch!