Akira Kurosawa & Los Primos -- Semete O-Namae wo（せめてお名前を）

There are a number of tropes when it comes to the old American sitcom. I think one would be the sidekick with the glib tongue who just can't seem to catch a break in romance. That was probably the case for Larry on "Three's Company" and maybe even Reuben Kincaid on "The Partridge Family". Another example is the joke-filled Ralph Malph on "Happy Days" (Potsie Weber, too, but I'll stick with Ralph).

I couldn't help but think of those guys when I heard "Semete O-Namae wo" (At Least, Give Me Your Name) by Mood Kayo group Akira Kurosawa & Los Primos（黒沢明とロス・プリモス）. This was their 28th single from February 1974, and the lyrics by Akira Ito（伊藤アキラ）relate the tale of a forlorn suitor who's hopelessly fallen for a seemingly unattainable lass.

The music by Koichi Morita（森田公一）is pure Mood Kayo with lots of solitary trumpet, strings, the chorus and the yearning vocals of the late Shoji Mori（森聖二）. I can imagine Ralph, Larry or Reuben searching the streets and bars and alleys for that mystery woman of allure but never quite tracking her down as I listen to this one, although I'm well aware that it might be a stretch for a lot of you folks to fathom a traditional Japanese ballad while seeing American sitcom characters failing in love. Ah. Anyways, speaking of "The Partridge Family", would you get a load of those costumes at 1:52 of the video? The band must have put out an APB!