Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by Time magazine,[2] he was best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups, such as the Monkees, Kansas, and the Archies.

He graduated from George Washington High School in Manhattan,[7] and went on to study at Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey.

[9] Kirshner achieved his first major success in the late 1950s and early 1960s as co-owner of the influential New York-based publishing company Aldon Music with partner Al Nevins, which had under contract at various times several of the most important songwriters of the so-called "Brill Building" school, including Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Phil Spector, Howard Greenfield, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Tony Orlando, and Jack Keller.

[10] He was also responsible for finding Tony Orlando, Neil Diamond, Carole King, and Sarah Dash of Labelle, as well as discovering the occasional rock act, such as Kansas.

Kirshner was hired by the producers of The Monkees to provide hit-worthy songs to accompany the television program, within a demanding schedule.

Kirshner used songwriting talent from his Brill Building stable of writers and musicians to create catchy, engaging tracks which the band could pretend to perform on the show.

[13] One instance brought Phil Spector, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart together on the TV show I Dream of Jeannie, a program on which Don Kirshner was credited as music consultant for 35 episodes from 1966 to 1967.

[16] He was a creative consultant for Rockrena, a company founded by Jack Wishna, and launched in 2011 to promote new music talent online.

[17] He died of heart failure in a Boca Raton, Florida hospital on January 17, 2011, at age 76, survived by his wife of 50 years, Sheila; his son, Ricky Kirshner; daughter, Daryn Lewis; and five grandchildren.