Jazz legend Gene Walker passed away on Monday at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center at the age of 76.
Walker was an internationally renowned tenor sax player and toured with the greats, including Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Shep and the Limelights, Jimmy Reed, The Isley Brothers, Brenda Lee, and Neil Diamond.
Walker also toured with the Beatles - including their first ever American tour - and even played in front of a packed crowd at Shea Stadium in NYC.
Around Columbus, Gene led his own jazz group, Gene Walkers Generations, which played traditional and contemporary jazz, according to the Columbus Jazz Arts group.
He was entered into the Columbus Musicians Hall of Fame in 1998.
