We need a Donald Shirley movie

Donald Shirley deserves his own movie.  Green Book is to the full Donald Shirley Story as an Avengers' movie to Black Panther.  In Black Panther the family story, the beauty, the love, the self-determination of Wakanda.  This episode explores his origin story and why Donald Shirley - originator, innovator, fighter - forerunner of Prince - is an American superhero.

Thanks to Donald Shirley for keeping on, and to the Shirley family for sharing your story.
Thanks to Brooke Obie of Shadow and Act for your inspiration.
Music credit to composer Ivy Spera for piano arrangement - best part of the podcast!

Transcript

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Don't stop, get it, get it. The Donald Shirley Story. This is the Bobby Ho Show, a podcast for the culturally curious. In this episode, I wonder, what would a movie about Donald Shirley look like? Donald Shirley deserves his own story to be told in his own movie. Green Book, if you loved it, didn't see it, can't stand it, is not a movie about Donald Shirley. That movie has their version of Donald Shirley taken from a very brief moment of an amazing life. But Green Book is not really Donald Shirley's story. Green Book is to Donald Shirley, as an Avengers movie is to Black Panther. In one, you just get a glimpse of T'Challa, a triple lutz and a quick cut against the background of a lot of Captain America and some Black Widow. In the other, you get Wakanda, you get Mama Black Panther, Angela Bassett, the brilliant funny sis, Leticia Wright with the jokes and the gadgets and Denai Guerreri and Michael B. Jordan and the power and the glory. And just like we needed a full Black Panther movie, we need a full Donald Shirley story. He had superpowers. Igor Stravinsky said Donald Shirley's virtuosity is worthy of God's. Duke Ellington said Donald Shirley was the only piano player he would ever give up his bench for. And a Donald Shirley movie would, like Black Panther, be visually striking with a luxurious sense of place and pride. Like Black Panther, it would also be a story about a family legacy and a fight for a nation. It would be the story of a man on a mission for his art, his people, and his country. It would be the story of a family and an innovator shining his light through surrounding horror. It would have Donald Shirley, a forerunner of Prince, an American original, a man who created his own genre of music so he could play, as he put it, the black experience through music with dignity. And it would have a roll call of the best supporting characters. Lena Horn, Duke Ellington, Billy Holiday, Count Basie, JFK, and Jackie Kennedy, RFK, MLK, and Coretta Scott King, Miles Davis, Harry Belafonte, Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, and James Baldwin. It would have locations on locations. Jamaica, Howard U, FAMU, Chicago, Harlem, Haiti, Milan, Leningrad, and countries to be named. This movie I am calling Don't Stop, Get It Get It, the Donald Shirley Story. Every superhero deserves a backstory. So whoever makes this movie would have the benefit of talking to the Shirley family to get their full family story. Based on what I read, here's a snapshot of what I think this origin story could look like. It begins with Donald's parents, Stella and Edwin Samuel Shirley. Two immigrants from Jamaica, Stella a teacher, and Edwin a minister. They're raising their family of three boys in Pentacola, Florida, in a house on the beach. They fill their home with love, music, and wisdom, and protect their sons as best as they can from a culture of Jim Crow and terror. Stella teaches Donald to play piano and teaches him good sense. A prodigy, he plays in his father's church when he's only three. He's offered the opportunity to study and train in Russia, but the family keeps him close to home. When Donald is just nine and Stella is thirty-two, she dies in the hospital two days after giving birth to her fourth son, Maurice. I don't know the exact cause of her death, but in an interview, Donald Shirley said she did not get the care she deserved because of the color of her skin. Without knowing exactly what happened, even today in 2019, black women are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication. But Stella and Father Shirley provide a strong foundation for their sons that her death did not break. The two oldest Shirley sons, Calvin and Edwin, go on to become MDs, some of the first black doctors in Florida. The two youngest, Donald and Maurice, received academic doctorates. So that is not one, not two, not three, but four doctors from the Shirley home. And whatever they received in their home and church and community and schools empowered them to use their gifts for the greater good. These sons were not just about personal success, they were part of the masses fighting to make America a better land. The oldest, Dr. Calvin Shirley, likely remembering how his mother passed, became an obstetrician who fought for better and greater access to health care in underserved black communities. Throughout his career, he successfully delivered thousands of babies. Dr. Edwin Shirley became a friend of Dr. King and would host him in his Miami home for rest. Edwin and a group of others would take Dr. King fishing and allow him to be Martin for just a few days. Maurice Shirley, the youngest, I don't know much about, but I look forward to learning about him from whoever makes this film. And Donald Shirley. Donald Shirley participated in the Selma and Washington marches. He performed benefit concerts for HBCUs. His nephew Edwin described him as someone with a fiery personality, totally devoted to the uplifting of African American people who would often stand up for himself and others against racist oppression. Donald Shirley, from his travels across the country and abroad, from his talks with James Baldwin and friendship with Dr. King, knew what America was and what it could become. Listen to him in Joseph Astor's footage say, This is America, as he describes what happened to Paul Robeson. His voice and his eyes just cut with power. I would love to see this story and this man's life brought to the screen. He would be an amazing, complex character. His love for music and how that carried him through being denied a place on the classical stage, his drive for excellence, his curiosity. I read in several places about how he could talk with authority about art and culture and almost anything. He is an analog man, sustained by music, books, conversations, and friendships, long conversations with friends about everything. And I would love to know more about his music. He created his own genre from classical elements, folk songs, spirituals, and blues. His music is both subtle and powerful. His niece Carol described it best, I think, when she said, quote, When my uncle played, you could feel his spirit. You could feel the spirit of our ancestors, the promise of the country, all the different parts of the world that he had been to. You could feel his triumph. You could feel his tragedy. You could feel his misery. You could feel his ministry. You could feel everything through his music. Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, somebody. Show his music some love with an audio documentary about all these influences and how he composed and played and created a completely original American sound. I'm Bobby Ho. Thanks for listening to this show. Let me know what you are culturally curious about. On Twitter, I'm at Bobby Ho Show One. On Instagram, at Bobby Ho Show. Closing piano arrangements by Ivy Sperra.