Doctors Began Musical Group By EMILY WEBSTER Youngstown Vindicator December 14, 1973
Members of the “doctors band” would rather their group be known as the “musicians band.” And, judging from the way the makeup of the group has changed since its formation a dozen years ago, an apt title might well be the “everybody band.”
The “Dixie Docs,” a dance band formed in 1960 by 11 physicians, who were skilled at jazz-type instruments, have been altered by time so that even the name has changed. Today, the Top Notes is comprised of 20 musicians, only four of whom are physicians – but those four were members of the original band.
Dr. John Vlad, a Warren pediatrician who was one of the original members of the old Dixie Docs and still plays a mean sax for the Top Notes, recalls that the group was formed initially in order to play for a spring meeting of the Trumbull county Medical Society.
On the urging of some of the members of Women’s Auxiliary to the society, both an instrumental group and a vocal group were formed to provide entertainment for the gala. The vocal group never got off the ground, Dr. Vlad recalls, but the instrumentalists blossomed. They filled their engagement for the medical Society and then realized they were enjoying their “hobby” so much they didn’t want to stop.
Now Have 200 Tunes
As the pressures of time and duties bore down on some of the physician-musicians, they dropped out of active participation with the band. Other musicians, in varied fields of life, were recruited. The name was changed from the Dixie Docs to the Top Notes in 1964, when the band was at 15-man strength.
Now led by Robert Fleming of Youngstown State University’s musical department, the group hires out for social, school and professional functions and is already book as far ahead as October 1974. They feature all kinds of dance music, from tunes of the ‘40s and 50’s to the new danceable rock. Styles range from that of Glenn Miller and Stan Kenton to the Carpenters, Dr. Vlad notes.
Rehearsals are conducted weekly at the home of Dr. Harold Brodell, who, with Dr. Vlad, Dr. William Masters and Dr. Donn Covert is among the band’s charter members.
Professional duties, even emergencies, don’t often affect the band’s performance. There are substitute musicians, just in case one of the regular members can’t put down his stethoscope and pick up his clarinet.
Are “Real” Musicians
The Top Notes consider themselves “real” musicians, Dr. Vlad points out, for several reasons. First, they rehearse regularly, taking their musicianship seriously. Second, the group is formed of “regulars,” not the pickup of personnel that some bands are characterized by. And last, the varieties of music that have been mastered by the Top Notes marks it as a group with flexibility as one of its talents.
Participation in the band “really is therapy for all of us,” Dr. Vlad says. “Some of the fellows could probably make more money in a smaller group – we play for minimum musician union’s rates – but they like this kind of music, and we’re a close group.”
The members’ wives, too, often participate in their husbands’ music-making activity. Some attend most or all of the engagements the band plays. At other times, such as when the group plays concerts in Warren’s downtown Courthouse Park, or at the Eastwood Mall or W. D. Packard Music Hall prior to the Kenley shows, “whole families attend.”
The Top Notes have gained fame in a wider circle than might be imagined. They have been asked to play, for instance, in Cleveland and Ashtabula and have performed for the Cuyahoga County Medical Society.
Band members come not only from Warren: Residents of Brookfield, Hubbard, Mineral Ridge, Howland, Cortland and Champion are also involved. And physicians rehearse side by side with college students, a tool and die maker, a social worker, a retail store manager, a retired barber-music teacher, a manufacturer and a music teacher. Previous band members have included a dentist, a lawyer, a heavy-equipment operator and a drug salesman, Dr. Vlad recalls.
As the band grows, so does its enthusiasm. “We’re really eager to play more engagements.” Dr. Vlad, who is in charge of booking the band, says. Usually, the group plays only throughout the school year, but last summer played several big jobs locally. One of the highlights of its existence was in 1967, when the Top Notes played for the inauguration of Hiram College’s President, Elmer Jagow.
“I wouldn’t give it up for anything,” Dr. Vlad says. “And I know that the rest of the fellows feel the same way.”
