Gerry McGee was the second great lead guitarist in the Ventures, joining for "Hawaii Five-O" and playing on scads of records and tours. He is also the son of Cajun music legend Dennis McGee. His passing was confirmed today by Ric Nesbitt of the Chamber of Commerce in Eunice, LA. Ric Kahuna Nesbitt
Aw crud... sorry to hear he's gone, loved the albums he was on, especially the originals! Gerry also played with Beefheart and recorded with the Monkees.
The first Ventures album he's on was titled The Horse, from late 1968. He's on the cover photo. I don't know though if he might've played on Flights Of Fantasy (the album before it) or not though, Edwards is credited on the original compositions for that one.
Aw, that’s sad. I saw the Ventures with Jerry at the House of Blues in 1998 when Bob Bogle was still with them also . They were really great and fun to see. RIP Jerry
Oh no. Very sad. I was lucky enough to see him with Mel, Bob and Don in 1988. Also played with John Mayall and Rita Coolidge.
My Gosh, this is sad . Saw Jerry a few times when The Ventures played NYC. A great guitarist who also played on The Monkees first album.
the thing that keeps us going after our favorites are gone; their musical legacy...small or large it's all the same....and I'm thrilled to have it.
Sorry to hear of his passing. Thought he played on the second Delaney and Bonnie and Friends album. The spelling of his name was Jerry...............same person?
Incredibly sad news. With all the RIP threads, this forum isn't much fun anymore. Gerry's style was unique and yet noticeably natural, which brought new life to the artists he played with. Gerry's playing in a live setting was just as tight as it was on the recordings. Before Dwight Yoakam met Pete Anderson in the 1980s, Gerry was playing guitar for Dwight. Gerry was a longtime friend of guitarist Nokie Edwards, whom he replaced on and off in The Ventures. We lost Nokie just last year and both guitar legends were fairly close in age. RIP Gerry Gerry McGee played on Dwight Yoakam's "Blame The Vain" album Gerry performing in Japan with Nokie in 1984
Last Fall, I saw Dwight Yoakam perform live only days after Gerry's death was announced. I hoped that Dwight would've done some sort of tribute either verbally or musically, but there was no mention. Apparently, Gerry collapsed onstage at what became his final concert while on tour in Japan. When not touring with The Ventures, Gerry utilized a solo band, which enabled him to perform some of his own material and favorites in addition to essential songs from The Ventures. Out of respect to the man, footage of his onstage death was pulled from the web, but here is a video of a show from the same tour filmed about 8 days prior to that tragic event.