In 1965, Bob Peeler, a 24-year-old guitarist, was staring at possible stardom. His Toledo band, The American Ways, had just recorded a new, peppier version of "My Girl Sloopy" - a Top 30 hit a year earlier for The Vibrations, a soul group from Los Angeles.
"Our record was being pressed and was just weeks from being released," he said. "We were in Columbus and I turned on the radio one morning and it was playing our song."
Only it wasn't their record. It was the same song, retitled "Hang on, Sloopy," and recorded by a Dayton band, The McCoys.
"They beat us to it," said Mr. Peeler, now 64. The McCoy's version hit No. 1 and launched the Dayton band to brief stardom.
Shortly afterwards, Mr. Peeler gave up performing. He sold new cars for seven years and in 1974 began managing a music store in Toledo. Ten years later, he opened his own store, Peeler Music on Byrne Road in South Toledo.
Since then, he has provided amateur and professional musicians with instruments and accessories, and outfitted churches, schools, and other institutions with sound systems.
"It's about fulfilling people's needs. If you do that, everything falls into place," he said.
As a long-time musician, he knew what kind of store musicians wanted: a place with lots of brand names, good repair service, and knowledgeable salesmen. But franchise deals between area competitors and major manufacturers kept him at first from carrying top lines of instruments and equipment.
"We decided to build our service department first," he said. "Nothing was too small. Sometimes I'd make two or three calls just to chase down a $1.50 part."
A strong repair department and selling people what they needed - and not what he could convince them to buy - won him loyal customers, Mr. Peeler said. "Even now, my staff knows to tell people they don't need a $20 set of strings when a $10 set will do."
As competitors dropped name brand lines, Peeler Music picked them up. More choices meant a need for more space. The store has expanded 1,800 square feet to 10,000 square feet.
In 1990, he started Peeler Drum Center, a secondary business catering to percussionists. It supplies drums and equipment to customers worldwide. Local customers include marching bands at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University.
Jason Stumbo, UT band director. said it was easy dealing with Peeler because not only does it carry the brands the university prefers, but it's a local firm.
"If we go out of town to buy, we run into problems if we need repairs. We have to ship the instrument out and you never know how long that will take," Mr. Stumbo said. "Besides, I find (Peeler) very well to work."
In 1992, after local churches sought advice on microphones and sound systems, Mr. Peeler started a commercial division to install and maintain sound equipment.
Both the drum center and sound division proved good moves because competition has grown from big box instrument stores and competitors selling via the Internet, Mr. Peeler said. "We're working for pennies now when we used to work for dollars. I'm working harder now than ever it seems," he said.
The Toledo company had its first revenue dip in 20 years this year because of the economy and rivals, Mr. Peeler said. But the business isn't stuck on a sour note and anticipates revenues of $3 million.
The drum center now has its own Internet site that has helped generate sales, and the company is seriously pondering opening a second location in Toledo.
Forty years ago, Mr. Peeler missed a shot at a big hit, but it taught him a good lesson. "You can't rest on your laurels - and I don't intend to," he said.
Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.
Small Business Profile is a weekly feature on local companies. To be considered, send information about your company to Small Business Profiles, Business News, The Blade, P.O. Box 921, Toledo, Ohio 43697-0921.
First Published August 8, 2005, 11:43 a.m.
