Illya, Kuryakin - aka David McCallum. Yes, he was in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He was actually Scottish - born to Glaswegians. Duh. A friend of mine also told me that David is on a wildly popular TV (have never seen it), called NCIS. McCallum made this record in 1966, according to the jacket. He plays no instruments on it nor sings any tunes on it. Rather, he conducts. OK, fine. From the back cover - I read and transcribe here, these are songs he states that are "a part of me." They are Turn Turn Turn, The IN Crowd, A Taste of Honey, Yesterday, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, We Gotta Get out of this Place, Downtown, The Far Side of the Moon, Louise, Insomnia, and The Sugar Cane. The back cover liner notes, David writes, "Eight of the 12 songs need no introduction. Of the other 4, one was written by my arranger H.B. Barnum. Another by the producer of this album David Axlerod. Two of them are very much a part or me. I hope you like it." David McCallum.
I loved "Man from U.N.C.L.E." though I can't remember what UNCLE stands for. I thought the name "Illya Kuryakin" was the danged coolest name in TV. When our second son was born in 1999, I called him "Illya" for the first few years and he responded to that name as much as he did to "Brayden"!
ReplyDeleteSpencer
he was also in The Great Escape...
ReplyDelete