All Jeff Irwin ever wanted to do was play music for a living

Having grown up in a musical family, local musician Jeff Irwin said he knew at an early age he wanted to be a professional musician.

“I asked for it. My parents never had to ask me to practice. It was more like, ‘Get off the piano. We need some quiet,’” said Irwin, 76, sitting in his home studio for a recent interview.

Irwin fulfilled that dream and has been a full-time musician since the late 1960s, spending almost all that time playing in restaurants and bars, and on stages all over Delaware. Now, six decades later, he’s being recognized for contributions to the state’s music scene with an induction into the Delaware Rock and Roll Society’s Delaware Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Irwin got the call about his induction from Delaware Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Executive Director Paulla Wolkind. He said he knew his name had been submitted, but hadn’t thought too much about it, and his response was general disbelief.

“Who the hell is this? Is this one of my friends playing a joke on me,” said Irwin, laughing about his reaction. “Honestly, I didn’t even know such an organization existed.”

Irwin said he thought he’d passed the point of recognition for his accomplishments. Most people, when they hit 45 or 50, they give it up, he said.

“I just didn’t think I’d be a candidate,” he said. “I never thought such an honor would fall on me. I don’t like to toot my own horn.”

Irwin was born in Wilmington and has been playing locally since the early 1990s. He grew up in a musical family – his mother played piano and organ; his father played organ and guitar; his brother played tuba, piano and bass. There would be country music and bluegrass jam sessions with family members, he said.

He studied classical piano for much of his childhood and began studying pop organ in middle school and then jazz piano in high school. He said he played in a number of rock bands through high school, but his first serious group was the Coachmen, a campus rock band he was part of while at Wesley College. In the mid- to late 1960s, Irwin transferred to High Point College in North Carolina, continuing his studies as a music major and playing in a number of different bands. He returned to Delaware in 1970.

Irwin hasn’t just played music – he taught at Wharton Music for over a decade, giving instruction in pop, rock, jazz, classical and theory. Irwin spent some years on the road traveling, but after getting married, he decided he didn’t want to travel anymore, so he started playing the local music scene in Wilmington. In the Cape Region, Irwin, who is currently the house musician for 1776 Steakhouse, played for 28 years at Victoria’s restaurant in the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel.

Irwin’s home studio is a small room, but it’s lined with a collection of instruments he uses when he’s composing – piano, motherboard, synthesizer, bass synthesizer, sound module, drum machine, guitars and a shelf with dozens of music books for inspiration.

“When I’m in here, I’m solving problems,” said Irwin. “That way when I’m out performing, I don’t have to think about things.”

Like many musicians, Irwin has an instrument he’s most comfortable on, but he’s better than most on a number of different ones. He can play the guitar, saxophone, clarinet and more.

“This is one of my favorites,” he said, pulling out a harmonica from its cardboard box holder and quickly playing “Oh! Susanna” on it.

Irwin said he’s been striving his whole life to master the piano.

“I believe in the work. I’ve always been striving to be an accomplished musician,” said Irwin. “You never really reach the top, because there’s always more that can be done. It’s that reaching that keeps you going.”

Irwin said he never compares musicians against each other, especially ones just starting out.

“I don’t compare who is better or best. I look at someone’s desire. If there’s a love of music, that’s what’s important to me,” he said.

Irwin said music is an economical avenue to the arts, and it’s benefit to all who pursue it because it teaches discipline, dexterity, muscle control, ear development, organizational skills and more.

“Music, in many ways, is a science of patterns. It opens the minds,” said Irwin.

Irwin said in many ways being in a band is like being on a sports team.

“To be successful, you’ve got to be on the same page,” he said.

Irwin estimates he has more than 2,000 songs sitting in his head at the ready. That doesn’t mean someone doesn’t ask for a song he’s not familiar with every now and then. What makes him a professional is that in a few short minutes, he can take a song he’s not familiar with, hear it, figure out the melody and then play it.

For example, just a few weeks ago, he was asked to play an obscure song from the musical “Camelot.” Irwin said he found the song, listened to it and was able to make the request happen.

“Sitting in the restaurant, with people talking and silverware clanking on plates, it can be tough to get a complete picture. However, if I can get the melody, I can get something that sounds familiar to the person making the request, which puts a smile on their face,” he said.

Irwin has spasmodic dysphonia, which makes singing all but impossible. As a rock and roll singer, the onset of the neurologic disorder in the early 1990s was a shock to him.

“Yeah, it was, but I try to live my life as a positive person. It just meant I had to work a little harder to go in another direction,” he said. “I couldn’t let it control me. I can’t live my life that way.”

Looking forward to the induction ceremony, Irwin and the other inductees, have been offered the opportunity to perform. He’s planning to perform a song called “Classical Gas,” written by Mason Williams in the late 1960s.

It’s a good, strong song that will allow him to incorporate some of his own music, he said.

“I just want to do the best I can,” said Irwin. “All I want is a clean performance. That’s all.”

The Delaware Rock and Roll Society’s Delaware Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2023 will take place at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 22, at the Grand Opera House’s Baby Grand, 818 N. Market St., Wilmington. Tickets are available at the box office; call 302-652-5577. For more information on the Delaware Rock and Roll Society, go to delawarerockandrollsociety.com.