Gerry McGee, the legendary L.A. session guitarist and longtime member of The Ventures, died Saturday in Tokyo, where he was on tour. He was 81.
A year after replacing founding member Nokie Edwards, he was the lead guitarist on The Ventures' signature hit, the theme for the classic TV hit Hawaii Five-O. He went on to record over 20 albums with the band, and is one of the members officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
The Eunice, Louisiana native also played on sessions for The Monkees, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Nancy Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt and Delaney and Bonnie. He also toured with John Mayall, Kris Kristofferson and Dwight Yoakam.
McGee had a second career as a character actor. He appeared in TV's L.A. Law, the mini-series North and South and the movies Heaven's Gate and A Star Is Born -- in which he proudly said he slapped Barbra Streisand on the butt.