The founder and owner of the Lake Charles-based record label, Goldband, Eddie Shuler had a profound influence on the music of Louisiana. The producer of the first Zydeco record -- Boozoo Chavis' Paper in My Shoe -- in 1942, Shuler co-wrote the classic tune, Bon Temps Rouler, with Clarence Garlow and produced numerous recordings by Iry LeJeune. During the 1950s and '60s, he produced influential recordings by Freddie Fender, Jimmy C. Newman, Rockin' Sidney, Juke Boy Bonner, Katie Webster, the Sugar Bees, and Cookie and the Cupcakes.

Initially drawn to country music, Shuler expanded his musical vision after moving to Lake Charles in 1942. While he supported himself as a dragline operator at first, he began to move towards a musical career after taking a part-time job at a local music store. Shuler's first break came when he was invited to join traditional Cajun band the Hackberry Ramblers in 1943. For the next two years, he toured throughout Louisiana and Texas' French Triangle. Leaving the group in 1945, Shuler borrowed 250 dollars from his mother and opened his own music shop. Forming a band, Eddie Shuler's All Star Reveliers, he recorded his first single, Broken Love, the same year. As the host of a radio show, Shuler often invited musicians to appear on the program. One guest, Iry LeJeune, who appeared on the show in 1946, began recording for Shuler's Goldband label in 1949. A subsidiary of Goldband, Trey was sold to Lester Sill and Lee Hazelwood, who moved the label to Hollywood. The label became important to the history of rock & roll when Phil Spector produced three singles shortly after the sale.

During the mid-'50s, Shuler and his wife, Elsie, owned and operated a highly profitable television repair and sales company, Quick Service TV Repair. At its peak, the company sold between 45 and 100 television sets daily and grossed 200,000 dollars annually. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi