MEET THE DOCTORS
Before The Doctor’s were The Doctors
they knew they needed a name that would be remembered. During the time, dance groups around Chicago were beginning to form, and they took inspiration from them to create their legendary moniker. In particular, they wanted a name that rivaled who they believed was their biggest competition - The Bisease Boys. The way The Doctor’s figured, they would be the cure to The Bisease Boys, hence the group name became The Doctors, and each member would adopt a unique Doctor name. Let’s meet them, why don’t we?
Dr. Gannon
Bahb Peters, also known as Dr. Gannon, was born in Louisiana and raised on the Southside of Chicago. Growing up on 79th near Saint Sabina from 3rd to 7th grade and then Roseland and West Pullman for High School, Bahb recalls “it was great back then...the popular singing group The Brighter Side of Darkness was on my block.” Bahb was educated within the Catholic educational system during his young life, and attended Mendel Catholic High School. There, he would meet Darien Davis who would convince him to form the dance group known as The Doctors. With a background on Soul Train and in the Mendel Marching band, Bahb quickly became a leader and the choreographer for the group.
Dr. Kildare
Darien Davis, Dr. Kildare, was born in Los Angeles, CA until the age of ten. His family then moved to Detroit before moving to Chicago’s Brainerd neighborhood. He felt the neighborhood was “bad,” remembering 8th grade when he had to run and hide to and from school. “They wanted me to pierce my ear to represent membership, but I avoided it. Thank God.” When Darien transferred to Mendel he thought “it was very prestigious…the high school with the college campus. Plus they had a football team with a great tradition.” When Darien spotted Bahb Peters and learned of his dance experience, he asked him to start a dance group together. After some convincing, Bahb agreed and the two young men would begin practicing routines together.
Dr. DooBig/Dr. Kiley
Jamie Shelton, aka Dr. Kiley, grew up on Chicago’s southside South Shore and Avalon neighborhoods. “South Shore was semi-congested with mostly apartment buildings & lakefront high rises and was transitioning from middle class white to working class black families. Avalon Park comprised closely knit neighborhoods of single family homes, mostly families and block clubs.” In school, Jamie was involved in poetry, debate, tennis, bowling, track field, and most notably, visual art. When Bahb Peters asked Jamie to dance with The Doctors, Jamie thought ‘but I’m an artist.’ This would prove to be in The Doctor’s favor when Jamie began hand drawing the invitations to their infamous parties.
Dr. Pepper
Born and raised in Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood, Anthony (Tony) Summerville found Mendel to be a good place to get an education. Tony lived in the same neighborhood as Bahb and they’d often ride to and from school together, go to fast food restaurants and visit girls. As a freshman in Chicago’s 1974, Tony liked to wear big apple hats and high heeled stax shoes, Nik-Nik Shirts and bell bottoms too! He was a stylish and handsome young man, and popular with the ladies. Bahb recruited Tony into The Doctor’s, and it was easy since they were already close friends. Tony would adopt the name Dr. Pepper, the Miracle Stepper because he enjoyed a Chicago Dance Style known as stepping. His humor was one of a kind, as was his vision. Dr. Pepper worked for his parents neighborhood store, so he always had cash and a car, often a different car every 3-4 weeks. Dr. Pepper having a vehicle at his disposal enabled the boys to travel across the city conducting business, getting pluggers made and delivering them to their peers to advertise for them. Dr. Pepper’s special interests were cars and parties, and when he wasn’t busy hitting his mark in the group dance offs he could be found working security for The Doctor’s events.
Dr. Casey
Steve Taylor, aka Dr. Casey was born and raised in Chicago. He lived on Chicago’s north side, in the Lathrop Home neighborhood. In 1972, his family moved to the far south side West Pullman neighborhood. “When we moved to West Pullman, it was predominantly white. My family was the third black family on our block. I wasn’t even allowed to go 3 blocks to the west of my house just to go the West Pullman Park because the white kids would chase me out. That all changed just one year later in 1973 when 90% of the white families moved out.”
Dave Harris, from class of ‘78 was Steve's main influence on attending Mendel high school. Monarch men were the draw of all the ladies of other all female Catholic HS. Monarch men were thought to be cool, sophisticated, and well mannered.
Dr. Shrinker
Rory Brown was born and raised in Chicago. His parents, who had migrated from the South, first lived on the Westside and later moved South to the Chatham neighborhood, a middle class Black community. Rory’s parents were committed to achieving a middle class lifestyle so they could build better opportunities for their children like many Southern transplants to the North. At this time, Chatham was a segregated community going through a transformation.
Rory was the first Black homecoming king at St. Francis De Sales High School. He played a variety of sports including floor hockey, football, and basketball. He was named All-City for basketball and participated in Athletes For Better Education, a sports organization offering camps, tournaments, clinics, and educational support for advanced athletes from Chicago.
Rory was also the youngest member of The Doctors, joining when he was only in 8th grade. Rory’s older brother sometimes provided support to The Doctors which helped bring them in contact with college students “expanding their perspective.”
Dr. Jekyll
Dave Harris, aka Dr. Jekyll was a sweet, shy kid from [the southside of Chicago]. Growing up with a stutter exacerbated by his shyness, Dave was a quiet young man, but still caught the eyes of the girls with his style and good looks. He was cool, funny and clean cut, with a little finesse. He dressed to impress, army jackets and military coats. Dave was also a great artist who loved to draw. Bahb was the one to recruit Dave into The Doctor’s and would work with Dave to pull his shyness out. Bahb knew the group would need Dave to capture the eyes of the girls, and he was right.
Dr. Scholls
Tim Lynch, aka Dr.Scholls, adopted the moniker because Dr. Scholls was the foot doctor, and Tim was known for his foot movement when it came to dancing. Dr. Scholls was a few years older than the rest of the Doctor’s, but this didn’t stop him from quickly taking a liking to them. Early on, Tim noticed how popular The Doctor’s were at parties, he decided he’d work as their manager. He also noticed the Doctor’s pluggers were different than others he’d seen, that was until their style began to be replicated by other dance groups in the area. It was then when Dr. Scholls realized the influence the Doctor’s had.
Dr. Spumone
Quinn Cooper met Bahb and Wayne Williams of The Chosen Few fame in grammar school at St. Catherines De Genoa on 117th Lowe on Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood. They would walk home from school everyday talking and ‘playing the dozens.’ Out of grammar school Quinn went to Mendel with Bahb and Wayne. Since Quinn resided in the neighborhood and was friends with many of The Doctors it was a no-brainer that he should become a member, and he was welcomed by the group as Dr. Spumone. Although Quinn joined the group later, he instantly made an impact as a quick learner of the routines. But Quinn also stood out as a performer, improvising unforgettable moves like his classic 'The UNCONCERNED.' Quinn was a favorite of the ladies and one of the coolest of The Doctors. Quinn dreamed of being a jockey and a basketball player, but would go on to leave Mendel to work full time at his father’s store on 103rd and Wentworth.
