He was a 2007 recipient of the North Carolina Heritage Award and in 2011 was elected to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
As was the case with many southern musicians, Shuffler's first experience with music was when he attended shape note singing schools in Valdese.
Shuffler's affinity for music grew and at age twelve his father traded an old broken-down car for a Kalamazoo guitar.
There were very few guitars in North Carolina at that time, and Shuffler had only become interested in them through radio shows broadcast out of far-away cities like Cincinnati.
One night, right after the end of World War II, Shuffler went to Granite Falls to see the Bailey Brothers, and when their backup band didn't show, he volunteered to play bass for them.
Shuffler eventually quit the music business "for good", and when his wife Sue expressed her incredulity at the idea, he sold all of his instruments to prove he was really done.
In the style the player used a flat pick to play three or more strings in sequence, which mixed a basic melody with fill notes to provide rhythm (two strokes down and one up).
This created a flurry of eighth notes which perfectly filled the breaks, and allowed Shuffler to keep the rhythm with the melody.