Little information circulates about Don Shirley, the only documents available being the booklets of his albums he wrote himself. While some details of his journey are contradictory, he would have joined the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory of St. Petersburg at the age of 9 and gave his first concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra at age 18 before obtaining several doctorates and degrees. He also learned to speak several languages. His first album, Tonal Expressions, was released in 1955 and Stravinsky, a contemporary legendary pianist, said of him that "his virtuosity is worthy of the gods". Though he was destined for a career in the classical, Don Shirley was dissuaded at the time by the leaders of the record company, who thought it would be difficult for him to be accepted by the white public.

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