By Bob Deakin
I can’t get “Ride Captain Ride” by Blues Image out of my head, so I had to take a deeper look. It is loaded with memorable hooks and lyrics, and hit number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1970.
It fit the music of the time, and the themes of freedom and going off on your own trip. You couldn’t blame anyone for confusing it with a Three Dog Night or Rare Earth song, yet it was Blues Image’s only hit.
There were lots of bands with “blue” in their name (Blue Cheer, Blue Magic, Shocking Blue, Climax Blues Band, Blue Notes, Blues Breakers) so that didn’t help. In addition, looking at photos of Blues Image, they look like that 70s band.
Neil Young or James Earl Jones?
In the grainy video for “Ride Captain Ride,” lead singer Mike Pinera looks more like Neil Young or Phil Lesh of the Dead, but sounds like James Earl Jones. It’s a big voice for a 22-year-old, and the band has it together. Isolate any instrument. It’s a big boy performance and a polished recording by producer Richard Polodor.
I discovered the song when I found the old 45 RPM record lying around the house, worn by my older brothers and sisters. When I eventually heard the album version with the long, fade-out guitar solo, I was hooked.
Seventy-Three Men Sailed Off To History
Co-written by Pinera and keyboardist Skip Konte, “Ride Captain Ride” sold more than a million copies and was certified gold the year of its release. As for the lyrics, Pinera’s wife was quoted saying it “is a story from Mike’s imagination. I know when he was in the studio recording that album, they needed another song and he wrote it on the spot.”
It is also rumored that the lyrics honor Sir Francis Drake’s 1570s voyage to the west, with 73 sailors. I’ve read, too, that Pinera was inspired by the evocative imagery from a poem by Frances S. Saltus. Pinera maintains it was simply inspired by the number of keys on the Fender Rhodes electric piano.
On that note, the Fender Rhodes is the identifying sound from the song’s intro. It’s one of the earlier uses of the Rhodes, which became a staple in 70s pop.
The Image Came First
The Blues Image was formed in Tampa, FL in 1966 by Pinera. They gained attention as the house band at The Image in Miami, a psychedelic club where Cream, the Grateful Dead, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Zappa, and everyone else played.
Blues Image eventually wound up in LA and signed with ATCO Records, releasing their first album, Open, in 1969, with “Ride Captain Ride.” Although a classic one-hit wonder, the Blues Image tentacles extended into the rock & roll world for years.
Saturday Night Fever to Seinfeld
Why did Blues Image break up? According to Mike Pinera in a 2022 interview with
Ray Shasho on his YouTube show, it was excessive demands from the record company.
“You cannot put a band out there [with] a year of one-nighters,” he said, noting some guys had families. “The record company wants us to do another album right away, then head back out on the road. Our manager said, ‘bands break up, and we want to get the most out of you guys while you’re still together.’”
Pinera left the band in 1969, before the Open album release, to join Iron Butterfly, famous for their 1968 hit, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. If you click on the song link and start a load of wash at the same time, your clothes should be dry by the time the song ends, even on the clothes line.
Kent Henry, who plays the beautifully refined guitar solo in the middle of “Ride Captain Ride,” left for Steppenwolf in ‘70, and keyboardist Skip Konte joined Three Dog Night in ‘73. Can’t help but wonder if these guys did any partying.
Blues Image percussionist, Joe Lala, later worked with The Byrds, CSNY, Whitney Houston, Joe Walsh, and played congas on the Bee Gees' “You Should Be Dancing.” He also did some acting. Seinfeld fans will recognize him as the startled priest in “The Face Painter” episode.
Somebody Get Ride Captain Ride Out of My Head
Now that I’ve given the band a cursory look, what’s up with this song? It works in a hundred ways. As a small child I knew the lyrics and the hooks. It is straight 8-bar blues/rock and four chords in the chorus: D, A, C, D.
What begins as a quiet, contemplative, haunting theme organically ends up as a restrained power chord festival. Drummer Manny Bertematti and bassist Malcolm Jones follow the keyboard intro with an ambitious, clean groove, and Pinera’s vocal forces you to pay attention.
Similar to Jack Bruce of Cream, his voice seems almost out of place in a rock song, but works, more powerful with each verse. I’m reminded of “Brandy” by the Looking Glass.
The short, instrumental cues at the end of each verse are wonderful at building tension. The band sounds ready to explode into the chorus each time, and as Pinera begins each verse with a stronger, sharper delivery, it builds anticipation.
The vocal harmonies are deceptively rich, with a masculinity that matches the power chords. The Hammond organ sustains throughout, adding to the tension, and there’s even an acoustic guitar that shines early in the song, among all the electric instrumentation. Joe Lala’s congas are mostly hidden in the background, but if they weren’t there, it wouldn’t have the same groove.
Seventy-Three Men Sailed Up, From the San Francisco Bay
I also hear an acoustic piano in the mix, early on, with bass notes. I don’t see acoustic guitars, pianos or organ credited on any source for the song, but it was 1970. Everything was mystery. I’m not convinced, either, that it’s not a Moog or clavinet doing the low keyboard notes in the intro, augmenting the higher notes on the Rhodes.
Pinera played a Gibson ES-345 on the record with a cranked Fender amp. He plays the dirty solo at the end of the album version, fading out into the world that others missed on the single version.
They Don’t Long To Be Close To You
Everything works on “Ride Captain Ride.” I couldn’t care less what they are singing about, as long as they get home safely. There was no click track, and few effects added beyond the guitar amps and Rhodes tone settings.
For this song, by this band, to cut through the wide variety of songs and make it to number 4 on the charts, likely surprised the band members, as most had left by the time it was a hit. With softer music like the Carpenters and Osmonds getting so much airplay, a manly song like this filled a niche.
What were the three ahead of it?
“Mama Told Me Not To Come” by Three Dog Night,
“The Love You Save/I Found That Girl” by the Jackson 5
“Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today)” by The Temptations.
Be Amazed At The Friends You Have Here On Your Trip
Pinera released a new album in 2022, produced by Mike Franklin, veteran producer and former member of Blues Image. It is titled The Next Voyage with a new version of “Ride Captain Ride.” As a solo artist, Mike’s “Goodnight My Love” from 1979 has half a million views on YouTube among mostly Spanish and Portuguese-speaking fans. He played with Alice Cooper in the 80s.
Phish has featured “Ride Captain Ride” on their live playlist since they began touring, so I’m not the only one asking “somebody get ride captain ride out of my head.”
As of this writing, Skip Konte and Mike Pinera are the only surviving members. I reached out to Pinera to fill in some holes in the story, but found out he’s in very poor health, living in the Tampa, Florida area. Best to you, Mike, and get better soon. Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip.
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