During the 1960s, Scottish-born actor David McCallum was an instantly
recognizable face across the world, thanks to his star turn as secret
agent Illya Kuryakin on the spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. But with
the release of his second album, Music…A Bit More of Me,
in 1966, he
became recognizable for another reason: his signature sound. Working
closely with famed producer David Axelrod and arranger H.B. Barnum,
McCallum, who comes from a family of musicians, delivers lush,
distinctly personal interpretations of classic songs by, among others,
artists such as The Beatles (“Michelle”), Petula Clark (“Call Me”) and
Axelrod himself, who contributes the original song “The Edge,” later
made famous when sampled by Dr. Dre for his monster hit “The Next Episode” in 1999.