Renowned pioneering Southwest Louisiana recording engineer, Eddie Shuler, died Saturday, July 23 at Emory East Side Hospital in Atlanta, GA, of complications from a recent heart attack. He was 92. At the time of his passing, he was the head of the nation's longest running independent record label, Goldband, which he founded in 1944 and is still based in Lake Charles, LA, where he was laid to rest, Wednesday, July 27.

Born March 27, 1913 in Wrightsboro, TX, a small town in Gonzalez County, he moved east in 1942 to Lake Charles to operate heavy machinery at the City Services Co. oil refinery. Having developed a love affair with C&W and pop music that he heard as a youth via records played over a phonograph, he was anxious to make some of his own and through a chance encounter soon thereafter took up the guitar with a legendary string band, the Hackberry Ramblers, which of that vintage included fiddler Luderin Darbone, drummer Crawford Vincent, and guitarist Edwin Duhon. "Although the band was quite a draw in the region, I couldn't fit in mainly because I couldn't speak French and even had to mouth the words that I couldn't understand. Besides, I wanted to do my own thing," he said in an interview. About 1945 he recruited his own All Star Reveliers modeled after the Texas swing bands of Spade Cooley and Bob Wills. Much of the success of the Reveliers could be attributed to Eddie, himself, who emceed a radio show four days a week at station KPLC in Lake Charles. At KPLC in 1944, with either a wire recorder or primitive, one-track tape machine, he also recorded his first 78 rpms which were used mostly as demos to promote his band. In 1955 the Reveliers disbanded. "Not only was I tired of all the long nights and travel but also it was wreaking havoc on my marriage. You know how musicians always tend to attract the girls," he always said with a wink.

Although most of the early Goldband releases were dominated by the Reveliers, including the local hit of 1951, "Ace of Love," the label would soon be accommodating regional music-Cajun-as well, which throughout the 40s was not officially endorsed and thus had no regular outlet on the radio. In an interview Eddie recalled the clash he had with the station manager of KPLC when he in 1948 invited a precocious twenty-year-old accordionist from Lacassine, LA, Iry LeJune, to play during his time slot. "When he first came to town he was like a hobo, real raggedy, and wearing this big floppy hat. He had his squeeze box in a flour sack under his arm," he said. But after the station was swamped with requests for an encore performance, the program director finally relented. "Iry was a persistent feller all right. But I always believed in giving a man a chance; otherwise, how would you discover what he could do?" he added, and in actuality summed up what would become the guiding philosophy of Goldband records.

Eddie would be the first to admit that during that era he was flying by the seat of his pants as a recording engineer and that some of the early undertakings of his label were characterized by a more rough hewn quality than was desired. To compound the problem, he'd often have to make on-site, "field" recordings with his trusty tape player, sometimes with mixed results. Visiting the abode of Iry LeJune in the early 50s, he recorded "Durald Waltz" (1041) which fortuitously included the sound of a barking dog. "His floor had slats in it which was letting in some of the outdoors and I didn't realize it until I went to release the number. But it was still a great tune," he said.

By the early 50s, he had acquired what is now the Goldband complex, a sprawling, shingled, multi-tiered, wood-framed structure at 313 Church St off of Ryan St in north Lake Charles, a converted, former Holiness church. It would become a combination record store (Eddie's Music House), television repair shop (Eddie's Quick Service T.V.), and recording studio for over a half-century thereafter. And it didn't take long for other artists in the area to migrate in Eddie Shuler's direction. "Well, after all, we were the only recording outfit in town," he would always say modestly. Throughout the 50s, Eddie recorded all genres of music, including R&B, blues, C&W, rockabilly, rock and roll, and, of course, Cajun. And most of these are prized collector's items, especially when found on 45 rpm.

In addition to Iry LeJune, who was killed in a horrific car accident after a gig in 1954, Eddie's Cajun stable of that time would soon include veteran Sidney Brown, Lionel Cormier, Leroy Broussard, Hobo Bertran, Linus Touchet, and the revered Aldus Roger. C&W performers were Bill & Carroll, Beth Murphy, Robert Owens, Dal Sterling, and Hopeless Homer (Chandler). Rockabilly was ably represented by the formidable Al Ferrier, Roy Vict (Victorian), and Larry Hart, the latter who had a smash with "I'm Just a Mender" (1070) in 1958. On Eddie's rock and roll roster of that era were Don Mooring & the Yellow Jackets, Walter Miller, and Gene Terry (Terry Gene Derouen), who also scored with "Cindy Lou" (1066) in 1958. And Eddie could also boast of a slew of R&B luminaries of that vicinity, including Charles "Mad Dog" Sheffield, Classie Ballou, and Little Ray Campbell.

Another type of music indigenous to South Louisiana at the time, Swamp Pop, which Doctor John (Mack Rebennack) defines as a slow ballad with E-flat, B-flat chord progressions, was de rigueur in any self-respecting band's repertoire and Goldband had a whole host of exemplars, including the Boogie Ramblers (who would go on to distinguish themselves as Cookie & the Cupcakes for friendly rival, George Khoury (whose base of operations was just around the corner from Eddie's on Railroad Ave. and Bilbo), Johnny Jano (Janot), and Guitar Jr. (Lee Baker), now Lonnie Brooks, who made a splash with "Family Rules" (1058) in 1957. However, Eddie Shuler's best seller of this designation was that of the transplanted West Coast bluesman, Jimmy Wilson's "Please Accept My Love" (1074), which Eddie leased to Lew Chudd's Imperial records of Los Angeles in 1957 for wider distribution.

Bluesmen of note who recorded for Goldband in the 50s included two Houston-headquartered players, Harding "Hop" Wilson, who mastered the electric Hawaiian steel slide guitar and whose stark and brooding "Broke and Hungry" (1078) cut in 1958 remains a blues classic and pianist Big Walter (Price), guitarist Good Rockin' Bob (Ed Thomas), pianist Tal Miller, Morris "Big" Chenier (Clifton's cousin), and Clarence Garlow of Welsh, LA, who reprised his signature "Bon Ton Roula" (1065) in 1957. Aside from modern Cajun (wherein the accordion replaced the traditional fiddle) and Swamp Pop, yet a third unique variety of music would emerge from South Louisiana during this same time frame, Zydeco. And despite not having its most splendid exponent, Clifton Chenier, in his fold, Eddie would enjoy its greatest hit up until Rockin' Sidney's (Simien) world-wide wonder in 1984, "My Toot Toot." And it was a tale that Eddie always relished to relate. "We had this Creole quarter horse jockey, Boozoo Chavis, living over in Dog Hill who was making a lot of noise in the territory with his accordion; so I hooked him up with Classie Ballou's band. Let's just say that the session didn't go too smoothly until I gave him a pint of whiskey to loosen him up," he said. Some versions of this story have Chavis falling off his stool with a crash while recording. Nonetheless, "Paper in My Shoe" on Goldband's subsidiary, Folk Star (1197), became an overnight sensation in 1954, prompting Eddie to approach the aforementioned Lew Chudd of Imperial when he the demand for the disk far outpaced the supply.

I often asked him whether there was a problem of his recording black music given the racial climate of those times in the Deep South. It was true that another producer of that period, J.D. Miller of Crowley, was also doing the same-Lightnin' Slim, Lazy Lester, Lonesome Sundown, Guitar Gable, Slim Harpo and then leasing their masters to Ernie Young's Excello label of Nashville-and even had a mixed studio session band, but I also suspected that maybe Miller had protection, call it diplomatic immunity from this radical element, in that he taped much Ku Klux Klan related material for his own Rebel trademark as well. But Eddie Shuler, ensconced for decades in his tinderbox of a facility, never experienced any racial threats. "I guess there could have been trouble. But I suppose that I was lucky. Nobody ever bothered me in that regard," he said.

It was also during the 50s that Eddie Shuler would share in one of pop music's greatest triumphs. In 1959 George Khoury sought out Eddie's help in recording local artist, Phil Phillips (Baptiste), who had brought him a very promising composition. Suffice it to say that their collaboration, "Sea of Love" (Khoury's 711), featuring the droning piano of Ernest Jacobs (of Cookie & the Cupcakes), would yield a monster record of epic proportions that zoomed to #2 on the hit parade in July of that year. Indeed, it was so huge that Eddie proffered it to area A&R man of Mercury, Shelby Singleton, but not before arranging for half the publishing through Nashville-based Don Pierce of Starday records. "Getting half of the copyright to ÔSea of Love,' in fact, having my own publishing [Tek], was the smartest move I ever made," said Eddie, especially after the song was covered by the Honeydrippers in 1984, used in the soundtrack of the eponymous, sexy thriller starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin in 1989, and was made part of a global ad campaign by perfume giant, Chanel # 5, in the 90s. "Yeah, I'd have to say that, through the years, it was my bread and butter," added Eddie in a recent interview.

Without a doubt, the decade of the 50s would mark the heyday of Goldband, but the 60s also provided its fair share of significant recordings. First and foremost, Eddie Shuler could also lay claim to be the first to record C&W superstar, Dolly Parton, who was brought to Goldband in 1960 at thirteen under the auspices of uncle and singer, the aforementioned Robert Owens. Her recording of "Puppy Love" (1096) now fetches over a thousand dollars on internet auctioneer, eBay. Another collectible of that same year was by the mysterious, itinerant, self-contained bluesman, Weldon "Juke Boy" Bonner, "Can't Hardly Keep from Crying" (1102). Yet another rarity was authored by rock and roller, Jay Richards, whose supporting cast on "Hear Love Knockin'" (1101) included the barely in their teens Johnny and Edgar Winter. By the way, this latter platter was produced by Eddie's son, Wayne, who is a story in himself, having directed for Capitol records in the 60s the memorable efforts of Elton Anderson, Guitar Jr., Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Bettye Swann.

Although these three 1960 curiosities hardly made a ripple as far as sales went, this was not the case for the 1961 Cajun-rock hybrid, "Sugar Bee" (1106) by Cleveland Crochet, which attained #80 on the national charts, especially after being picked up by Bill Lowery's Atlanta-based indie, NRC (National Recording Corporation). Throughout the 60s, reliable hit-making Goldband artists abounded, including C&W figures Leon Ashley, Jay Stutes, Claude Shermack, Dell Mack, and Jo-El Sonnier, billed as the "Cajun Valentino." In the Cajun realm were a string of winners by Vorris "Shorty" LeBlanc, the Hackberry Ramblers' "Cajun Pogo" (1143) in 1963, and Hobo Bertran in 1966 with his "Starvation Waltz" (1163). About mid-decade not only had future Zydeco celebrity "Count" Rockin' Sidney joined Goldband for an extended stay but also Wilson "Boozoo" Chavis had returned with a flourish, issuing the novelty instrumental "Hamburgers & Popcorn" (1161). Also in the 60s, Eddie had created yet another auxiliary label, ANLA, which was largely devoted to soul music of the region which was slowly supplanting blues as the music of choice in the Afro-American community. And some of the charter members of this logo included Chester Randle, Bill Parker, Clifton White, Big Daddy Green, and the Original Soul Senders.

At least into the early 70s, Eddie and Goldband continued to thrive, especially with the infusion of new talent such as pianist Mickey Gilley, long before Urban Cowboy and who had recorded his first single for George Khoury, Tex-Mex singer, Freddie Fender (Baldemar Huerta), shortly before he found fame and fortune as a Swamp Pop star for the notorious and recently incarcerated, Houston-headquartered Huey Meaux, and Katie Webster, after she had parted ways with J.D. Miller both as a session musician and recording artist and after the untimely death of Otis Redding for whom she toiled for a spell on the road. As for the latter, according to Eddie, she was quite a coup and a singer he had always admired for her versatility. Ironically, she had done some session work for Eddie in the late 50s, having been discovered on keyboards as part of R&B guitarist Ashton Savoy's ensemble. Myth has it that the aforementioned Good Rockin' Bob (Ed Thomas) dedicated "Take It Easy Katy" (1067) to her in 1958. Nonetheless, Eddie was all too eager to welcome her back to Lake Charles after Miller cleaned house of his now-legendary studio band, which included sax man Lionel Torrence (Prevost), bassist Bobby McBride, drummer Warren Storm (Schexnider), guitarist Al Foreman, and, of course, Katie.

But Eddie often wondered how he survived the late 70s, which were a bleak period for not only Goldband but also any record company attempting to record regional music. Disco music was all the rage and Eddie was clearly out of his element coming to grips with it. "I basically weathered the storm until people came to their senses," he said. But his optimism and patience paid off, since by the mid-80s, both Zydeco and Cajun roots music experienced resurgence and Eddie returned to recording in earnest, especially with accordionists and new protŽgŽs Herman Guiee (Guidry), Bon Ton St. Mary, Mickey Newman, nephew of C&W headliner Jimmy C. Newman, and Mel "Love Bug" Pellerin. And soon thereafter he would add to his rolls the name of the Willis Prudhomme, who was a disciple of the great Cajun accordionist Nathan Abshire and who was making a quite a name for himself, touring extensively throughout the Northeast Corridor.

Although Zydeco and Cajun music continued to fare very well for Goldband, its intended demographic was always limited and as the 90s dawned, Eddie tried one more experiment in order to return to the national charts-C&W. He thought he had found the answer in local prodigy, Skip Dowers, who was packing them in at all the venues in the vicinity. "He can out sing Alan Jackson," said Eddie on many occasion. And he was right. But Eddie had to learn the hard way that Nashville cornered the market on this style of music and in fact had a stranglehold on the industry. There would be no more conduits from South Louisiana to Music City like in the old days wherein J.D. Miller could record a Rusty & Doug (Kershaw), an Al Terry (Theriot), or even a Jimmy C. Newman and have them suddenly appear on national hillbilly surveys. Area singers like Jo-El Sonnier or Sammy Kershaw, try how they might on their home turf, couldn't expect a recording contract unless they paid their dues or jumped through hoops in Tennessee. Despite the odds, though, no one could ever accuse Eddie of not giving this ill-fated trial his best shot.

Still hale and hearty well into the 90s, Eddie came to the conclusion that he'd have to make changes at Goldband in order to keep abreast of modern technology and the seemingly constant windfall from the publishing of "Sea of Love" allowed him to realize his dreams. About 1995 he enlisted the services of the now late Bert Frilot, who had apprenticed in the early 60s under the heralded recording engineer, Cosimo Matassa of New Orleans, and later built the studio in Pasadena, TX, for Mickey Gilley in his eponymous roadhouse, the so-called "World's Largest Night Club" featured in Urban Cowboy. Frilot, himself, has an incredible history both as a technician and pilot and Eddie never really got over his untimely death in 1999. It was Frilot who single handedly upgraded Goldband's rather rudimentary facility by personally installing a 24 track studio using a Studer 2 inch 24 track tape machine and a D&R 24 track console with computerized automated mixing-in short, his intervention represented a quantum leap from the Stone Age to state-of-the-art.

In fact, Frilot, as his right-hand man, prided himself as being on the cutting edge of the newest advances, including computers, and suggested that Eddie set up a website: http://www.goldband@purecajun.com in order to advertise not only musical merchandise and paraphernalia (T-shirts, posters, books, rub boards, videos) but also all things related to South Louisiana, particularly foods (hot sauce, seasonings, gumbo mixes, roux, etc.) It remains very active to this day. Moreover, in order to make Goldband more efficient and economical, Bert installed a special multi-purpose computer which could edit graphics and thus create homemade CD booklets, cassette J-cards, company brochures, and catalogues. "When Bert spoke, I listened. He knew what he was talking about and I trusted him like family. In fact, when he came to Lake Charles, he stayed with me, in my home" said Eddie in an interview. As time wore on, Eddie confided to me that he was also very concerned about preserving his legacy, meaning mainly his music, and was determined not to let his half century's worth of recordings and other Goldband artifacts deteriorate before his very eyes. To his relief in 1995, the University of North Carolina acquired his business records, studio logs, promo material, and inventory of over 14, 000 master tapes, which they transferred to DAT. After all the significant documents are carefully catalogued (an arduous and exacting process) the prestigious institution intends to designate a space on campus wherein they can be accessed for research purposes. "That was a big load off of my mind. And I feel confident that everything is finally in safe keeping," he said. Having moved over in 2004 to Snellville, GA (near Atlanta) with his wife of nearly 60 years, Elsie, in order to be close to his son, Johnny, he entrusted the running of Goldband to longtime assistant Pamela Wilkinson, who has performed admirably in his stead. Yet the fate of the Goldband complex itself is problematical. It stands rather weathered and forlorn in a long neglected neighborhood which is a prime candidate for urban renewal and some say it's directly in the path of a new bridge intended to replace the aging I-10 span across nearby Lake Calcasieu. To make matters worse, the gambling lobby seems to grow more powerful by the minute and it's not difficult to conjecture what wholesale changes would be in store if local politicians decide to dock another floating casino just adjacent to his property, conveniently positioned at the end of the Ryan St off ramp.

With Eddie Shuler's passing only Floyd Soileau of Ville Platte remains as one of the great producers of South Louisiana from its golden age of music. J.D Miller of Crowley, George Khoury of Lake Charles, and Lee Lavergne of Church Point have all recently disappeared from the scene. They were all characters in their own right and highly idiosyncratic. Eddie, himself, had his endearing, folksy charm and legendary gift of gab. But unlike each other as they were, they all shared one trait in common-a good ear, which set them apart. And for that special quality, upon which they often risked financial ruin, we should always express our gratitude. For without them, this wonderful music would have forever been lost. Now, it will be a gift for the ages. Yet, it's still going to be tough not to regularly ring Eddie Shuler just to hear that old familiar greeting-"Hello, this is Goldband. How may we help you?"