Nearly six months after Peeples Music store closed its doors, seriously wounding Ames’ indie music scene, the man who catered to the indie music scene in Ames has died.

Charlie Chapman, 51, died Friday from injuries sustained in an automobile accident near Huxley.

“I was crushed when I heard the store was closing. Now this is another crushing blow for people who knew him and loved his store,” said Patrick Fleming, co-owner of Bi-Fi Records and member of Ames band Poison Control Center. “I didn’t know him other than going into the store, but that’s what his life was, and that’s what he liked. He was just a good music fan.”

Chapman was driving south on U.S. Highway 69 when his car veered onto the west shoulder. Chapman steered hard to the left as if he were attempting to get his car back on the road, but steered too hard, Mark Pote, detective with the Huxley Police Department, said Wednesday. The car ended up sideways in the middle of the road and in the northbound lane. A car driving north hit his car on the passenger side of the vehicle.

Chapman was remembered Wednesday by members of the Ames music scene.

“Even though he only owned a store, he was kind of a public figure that everyone knew,” said Squire Boone, student director of the Maintenance Shop. “It’s a tragedy whenever something like this happens.”

Peeples Music, which was located at 303 Welch Ave., was the only independent music store in Ames still breathing before it went under last winter. It began as a small record store in Des Moines that eventually expanded to Ames. Peeples Music served the community for 16 years – Chapman managed Peeples for 14 of them.

“He was a pretty important cog in Peeples Music up there,” said Mike Emloe, owner of Peeples Music in Des Moines. “Without him, Peeples Music in Ames wouldn’t have been Peeples Music.”

Emloe knew Chapman, not only as a connoisseur of music, but also as a friend and employee for 25 years.

“Charlie was an all-around great guy – family guy, jokester,” Emloe said.

After the closing of Peeples, Chapman went on to work at the Sunglass Hut in North Grand Mall.

He isn’t only remembered by his work at Peeples or Sunglass Hut. At home, his wife Chris knew him as her husband – a lover of music, inventor of games and a collector of dragons.

“He was the most intelligent person I’ve ever known,” Chris Chapman said. “He was the most sensitive person I’ve ever known.”

He was especially sensitive about other people, Chris Chapman said.

“There were several custodial people in the building, and it bothered him that most folks would just ignore them,” she said. “He would take time out of his day to talk to them and make sure they didn’t feel left out.”

Services were Tuesday at Westover Funeral Home in Des Moines. At the funeral, Chapman’s family played King Crimson’s “Epitaph.”

“He loved music. Music was one of his favorite things. If I ever had a song that I didn’t know what it was I could just say `Charlie, it goes kind of da-da-da and says this.’ The next day he’d have the CD for me,” Chris Chapman said. “He knew more about music than anyone I know.”

Peeples was the store to find rare releases, as well as extremely rare releases. And although Chapman’s favorite bands included Roxy Music, Tangerine Dream and King Crimson, he was willing to discuss almost any genre with his customers.

“He had a large knowledge of music and was always willing to make conversation and recommendations,” said Joe Williams, co-owner of Bi-Fi Records and a four-year customer of Peeples Music .

“He was an institution in Ames music for sure,” said Jared Hoffbeck, assistant manager of Sam Goody. “I bought albums from him when I was in college. Back in the day, he always knew who I was when I walked in there. He knew his customers and had an insane amount of music knowledge. The guy could talk fluently in any genre of music you wanted to talk about.”

Chapman was known by many local Ames bands, and his store was known as the place to go to hang up flyers and consign their CDs. Without shrink wrap and a bar code, consigning local band albums at Sam Goody or Hastings is tough, Fleming said.

“He’d consign everything – it didn’t matter if it was the best quality looking thing,” Fleming said. “[Peeples was] a very band-friendly store. Charlie always supported local music – it didn’t matter if he liked it or not.”

When Peeples was closing, Chapman made sure Fleming came by the store to ensure he received the money he owed Fleming from consignments.

“He was a very honest businessperson who was in a business that is hard to be honest in,” Fleming said.

After his death, Chris Chapman composed a list of qualities and characteristics she loved about her husband.

“It’s just a list to help me express all my feelings for him – specifically, how wonderful he was. There’s no way he could ever, ever, ever be replaced, ever,” Chris Chapman said. “He was just the most wonderful person I’ve ever known. He was always trying to help people.”

And just as he touched the life of his wife, he touched so many other lives in the Ames community and music scene. He will be remembered as a highly intelligent man with a love for music, his family and his job.

Williams said Chapman made every effort to serve his customers’ needs.

“Charlie was a great guy who had a sincere interest in bringing good art to people through music,” Williams said.

“I will remember him as a true patron of the local scene and a man that helped shape people’s tastes in music.”