- (1961) Performed his single "Water Boy," at the Basin Street East, in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, where Duke Ellington came to visit one of Shirley's house band members, ending up staying for the whole show. As a result of Ellington seeing Shirley perform, Ellington and Shirley started a friendship, which lasted for the rest of Ellington's life (1899-1974).
- (1973) Appeared on Black Omnibus (1973), hosted by James Earl Jones. The episode date is unknown, and several episodes of this show are not listed on IMDb, and of those which are listed, most have incomplete guest performer lists. There is a clip of this appearance (found on YouTube, see video link below).
- (1945) Featured soloist, at the age of just 18, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performing "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's B-flat minor concerto".
- (1955) Appeared on Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (1949) and played "How High the Moon." The episode date is unknown, and many of the episodes of this show are not listed on IMDb, and many of the episodes which are listed, have incomplete guest performer lists. There is a clip of this appearance (found on YouTube, see video link below).
- (1960s) Shirley went on a number of concert tours, including swings through Southern states, believing that he could change some minds with his performances. For his initial tour, in 1962, he hired New York nightclub bouncer Tony "Lip" Vallelonga as his driver and bodyguard. Their story is dramatized in Green Book (2018).
- (June 1954) At the invitation of conductor Arthur Fiedler, Shirley was the featured soloist at several concerts performed in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- (1950s - 1960s) Shirley recorded many albums for Cadence Records, New York City, New York, USA. His recordings on Cadence during this time included some experimentation with jazz featuring classical influence. One 1961 result of these experiments, was his single "Water Boy," which reached No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, staying on the chart for a further 14 weeks.
- (1961) The release of his single "Water Boy" reached No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 14 weeks.
- (1990s) Most of his albums were remastered and reissued on CDs. Since his death in 2013, many of his recordings are available on streaming services.
- (1945) Featured soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, performing one of his own compositions.
- (1949) The government of Haiti asked him to be the featured performer at the Exposition Internationale du Bi-Centenaire de Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which was quickly followed up by a request from President Léon Dumarsais Estimé and Archbishop Joseph-Marie Le Gouaze for an encore performance the following week.
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