Atlantis

Atlantis
January 1971
Atlantis @ Joe Hunt's

When Just Us Moved to Scottsdale, we bought nice suits, upgraded our gear a bit, streamlined the show and became Atlantis. Shay Dennis also came back. With Stuart added to the band, we could do tasty brass section arrangements, and Shay took full advantage of that. Our presentation was very professional, much like you would see in a Las Vegas review. During this period, we added an additional girl singer, first a tall sultry blonde with a deep voice named Pepper (I can't remember her last name, but I sure remember the dresses), then later a pretty brunette named Gloria English who sounded a lot like Karen Carpenter. In addition to headlining at Joe Hunt's in Scottsdale and The Adams Hotel in Phoenix, we played many casuals with and without Shay. Within 6 months the offer came from a Hollywood talent agency, George B. Hunt & Associates, to hit the road.

John w/Atlantis @ Joe Hunt's

Stuart decided to go back to college for his engineering degree and was replaced by Billy Gonzales (trumpet) from the Eclectic Mouse, a Capitol Records studio band. We continued to polish our show, then Sandy also made the decision to leave in favor of school. He was replaced by a rocking piano player and alto saxist named Larry Baird (Today, Larry Baird is the musical director for The Moody Blues). Gloria also left, being the mother of 2 children and unable to travel. The new lineup hit the road with Shay Dennis.

Atlantis & Shay

Our first stop was Stockton, California at the Holiday Inn. Then Alamagordo, New Mexico where we did a nightly television broadcast that aired in Las Cruses. Next we added a German vibraharpist and vocalist, Lorri London and traveled to The Ramada Inn Convention Center in Tucson. New Year's Eve, 1971, was spent with Shay and Atlantis working in tandem with The Count Basie Orchestra, Atlantis in the lounge and the Basie Band in the Grand Ballroom.

Atlantis with Gonzales & Baird

For us, the tension and professional demands were more than we could handle. After Tucson, Larry Baird, Billy Gonzales, Rick Agular and Lorri London all left the band. What remained was Larry Lemelson and me. We found a new piano player, Mike Halperin, changed our name to The Larry Richards Group and went back out on the road.