The Amazing Career of Don Shirley

After seeing the movie The Green Book, I felt I wanted to know more about this incredible man, Don Shirley.  Born in Florida to Jamaican parents, Don started playing piano at age 2.  His talent was recognized early, and he was invited to study at the Leningrad Conservatory.  He went on to become one of the great pianists of his time.  The fact that he was black limited his opportunities.  There were no black classical pianists at this time, the 1950's and 1960's, so he turned to pop and jazz.  He performed many times with The Boston Pops, and toured the country for many years.

In the 1960's he accepted invitations to tour the deep south.  Although he could have stayed in the north and made more money, he wanted to try to change the attitudes of whites who attended his concerts.  Whether or not he did is unknown.

The movie about his life and his relationship with his driver/bodyguard Tony Lip Vallelonga is called The Green Book.  This book was what blacks traveling in the south used to let them know where they could sleep and eat.  It was hard for me to believe that in 1962 the division between black and white in south was so deep.  Don Shirley stayed in a dumpy hotel, while his bodyguard Tony, stayed in a nice hotel a few blocks away.

Don and Tony traveled through the south together in 1962, and formed a bond that lasted the rest of their lives.  They both died in 2013.  In addition to his extraordinary ability as a pianist, Don Shirley spoke 9 languages fluently and was a painter.  As different as Don and Tony were in just about everything, they respected one another.  That's really what most people want from others, respect.