Record Label Spotlight: Goldband Records

Goldband Records was an independent record label based in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Operated by musician and songwriter Eddie Shuler, Goldband Recording Studio was located in the small backroom of his radio and TV store. Shuler recorded a wide range of styles: Cajun, swamp pop, zydeco, rhythm and blues, rockabilly, country, blues, and soul.

Eddie was born in Wrightsboro, Texas, and moved to Lake Charles in 1942 to work at an oil refinery. He played guitar with The Hackberry Ramblers before forming his own band, The All-Star Revelier. Llike so many regional bands, they performed on local radio (KPLC 1470 AM).

In 1945, Shuler started Goldband Records. It was originally created to record his own group, but they quickly expanded to releasing records by other local bands. In 1948, he began releasing records by accordionist Iry LeJeune, which became some of the first Cajun recordings to be released.

By the early 1950s, Eddie had established the Goldband complex—including a recording studio, record store, and TV store—in Lake Charles. And the hits soon followed: Boozoo Chavis's PAPER IN MY SHOE (1954) and the company's biggest seller, Phil Phillips' SEA OF LOVE (1959). Goldband was also the first to record Dolly Parton (then 13 years old), with PUPPY LOVE (1960).

The company flourished with Cajun regional successes during the 1960s, but shifting tastes in the 1970s caused its fortunes to decline. Eddie’s studio buildings in Lake Charles were demolished in May 2017.

The Goldband Recording Corporation archival collection, which includes original sound recordings, papers, and photographs, is housed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill within the Southern Folklife Collection.

Here's something fantastic we found, a while back, from Shannon La Salle...