Song:Ride Captain Ride
Album:Atlantic Hit Singles 1958-1977
The 1970 top five hit Ride Captain Ride was the only chart single for the very short lived group Blues Image. They released three albums but most folks are only going to want this song. The group was from Tampa, FL led by singer guitarist Mike Pinera along with drummer Manny Bertematti, percussionist Joe Lala, keyboardist Emilio Garcia and bassist Malcolm Jones. Garcia left to become a pilot and was replaced by Frank "Skip" Konte. They were the house band at a club in Miami and this led to a contract with Atco Records. They moved to Los Angeles and their 1969 debut album went nowhere. Ride Captain Ride was from their 1970 album Open. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Pinera and Konte wrote the song supposedly about the 1968 incident when the USS Pueblo was captured by Koreans. Richard Podolor (Three Dog Night) produced. This comp of Atlantic singles is a good place to get Ride Captain Ride. The album did well but Pinera left soon after to join Iron Butterfly. Denny Correll and Kent Henry replaced him and Blues Image recorded a third album but split up before it was released. Pinera was also a member of Cactus and was in Alice Cooper's band. He currently performs with the Classic Rock All Stars. Konte joined Three Dog Night. Lala worked with Stephen Stills' band Manassas and is still a session drummer today. Here's the video for Ride Captain Ride by Blues Image.
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