He was born Donald John Walsh in West Ham, London, and when young was adopted by the Shinn family in Southampton, Hampshire, where he grew up.
Other band members were Johnny Keeping (vocals), Tony Good (guitar), Jim Sach (bass), and Roger Pope (drums).
Shinn was hospitalised with tuberculosis for several months in 1965, but after his recovery formed a new version of The Soul Agents with Pope, Dave Glover (bass) and Pete Hunt (vocals).
Like the band's other releases, this was not a commercial success, but both sides are now seen as "a testament to his credentials as a pioneer of prog.... combining neo-classical flourishes with jazz licks and R&B raunch...".
The instrumental album, initially titled Don Shinn... Takes a Trip but then retitled Temples With Prophets for release in the UK, was eventually issued by Columbia in early 1969.
In the early 1970s, Shinn joined former Soul Agents bandmate Pete Hunt in the jazz rock band Iguana, but in 1974 left the British music business and moved to Norway.