Obituaries

Shelton Irwin Jr.

John Shelton Irwin Jr. unexpectedly left the planet on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014. He was born in Chattanooga, and grew up in East Ridge. His parents, John and Kathleen Irwin, retired to Williston in the 70s. Shelton received his first guitar at age 12 from his father. One of the first songs he learned to play was "House of the Rising Sun." By age 15 he was playing with an all-African-American band in the 60s, The Inclines. Their songs were played on the radio and recorded on to vinyl at a studio in Muscle Shoals, Ala., one of the most prestigious recording studios in the country. At age 16 he traveled to Miami to audition for The Chambers Brothers, which was only the beginning of a long list of talented and famous musicians he worked with through out his life. They provided him with an apartment and weekly studio time in New York City for about two years. He then traveled to Memphis to play at Fame Studios, through Texas, and finally Denver before retuning to Chattanooga in 1972 where he worked with Bobby Boyd and the Playboys. In 1974 he moved to Atlanta and worked at Southern Tracks Studio for one of the largest publishers, The Lowery Group. He wrote two songs "Back in Time" and "Jamaica" that he recorded and co-produced with Johnny Nash. While at Southern Tracks, he had the opportunity to record on several Gold albums. He recorded with Bertie Higgins, Starbuck, Dennis Yost, Tommy Roe, Freddy Weller, Sami Jo, Freddy Knight, Eddie Middleton, Unipop, Billy Jo Royal and many more. He co-produced two of Alabama's first singles with Sonny Limbo, and recorded and toured Canada with Shirley Elkhard. In the 80's Shelton moved to Florida, starting his own studio and ASCAP Publishing Co.: GATORTRACKS. He recorded and performed with Those Guys w/Artimus Pyle, Bo Diddley, Rudis Road Service, Brainerd Underground, Jose Primero and many others. In 1990, Shelton and his wife Jean were blessed with their son, Trip Irwin, which was the joy of their life. For the next 24 years he played with various artists. He continued to write songs and inspire his peers, preserving the greatest styles and forms of musical expression through the changing time. For the last couple of years, Shelton played at the Horse and Hound in Ocala, Fla., on Friday. He and Trip played together for the last 10 years at local venues including The Ballyhoo, Tall Pauls and all over Florida. Shelton spent his last days recording music on reel-to-reel with his son. Survivors are wife, Barbara Jean Irwin; son, John Shelton Irwin III; sister, Patricia L. Smith (William Smith). Memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. today, Dec. 21, at Knauff Funeral Home-Chapel, Williston. Will Clark will be officiating. In Lieu of flowers, please send a donation to The St. Francis House (a transitional home for homeless people) in Gainesville, Fla. in Sheltons name.

Published December 21, 2014

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