The Alfee -- Weekend Shuffle ~ Hanayaka na Shuumatsu（華やかな週末）

 

It was literally at the top of NHK's nighttime newscast this morning as breaking news came in that veteran actor Masakazu Tamura（田村正和）passed away on April 3rd from heart failure at the age of 77.

Tamura had a career in movies, TV shows and plays spanning 60 years in which he's taken on roles as romantic leads, historical warriors and frazzled fathers. However, arguably his most famous character came in during the halfway point when he became the eccentric TV detective clad in fashionable black, Ninzaburo Furuhata（古畑任三郎）. Comparisons with America's beloved Columbo were made although both detectives had their own different but distinct idiosyncrasies. Plus, both had their memorable theme songs and years ago on the blog; I did write an article about Yusuke Honma's（本間勇輔）theme for Furuhata.

Although I couldn't find any sign of the program on YouTube, while Tamura was taking on lead roles in the trendy dramas of Japanese TV in the 1980s, he starred in the 1988 "Papa wa Nenjuu Kurou Suru"（パパは年中苦労する...Papa Suffers All Year Round）, which was the second in the "Papa" trilogy of programs beginning with the long-running "Papa wa Newscaster" (パパはニュースキャスター...Papa is a Newscaster) in 1987 and then "Papa to Natchan"（パパとなっちゃん....Papa and Natchan） in 1991.

The theme song for "Papa wa Nenjuu Kurou Suru", which was about a divorced father played by Tamura who suddenly has to take on his kids again after his ex-wife suddenly disappears, was "Weekend Shuffle ~ Hanayaka na Shuumatsu" (A Brilliant Weekend) recorded by rock band The Alfee. A fairly rollicking 30th single by the band released in March 1988, I remember the song from that lyric "...the weekend lover!" and then its performances by The Alfee when they appeared on the music ranking shows. The song was written and composed by band member Toshihiko Takamizawa（高見沢俊彦）who kinda looks like Tamura himself on that cover. It peaked at No. 4 on Oricon and it first made its appearance on an album through The Alfee's BEST selection, "BEST SELECTION II THE ALFEE" that came out a couple of months later in May.

My condolences to Tamura's family and friends and all of his fans. I may actually provide a compilation article on some of the theme songs for his dramas a little later on this week. Also, Noelle Tham provided an article on the actor's sole single, "Sora Ippai no Namida" (空いっぱいの涙) from 1966.