Blues Image was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band. They had a hit in 1970 with "

Ride Captain Ride "Ride Captain Ride" is a song recorded by the American rock band Blues Image. It was co-written by the band's singer-guitarist Mike Pinera and keyboardist Frank "Skip" Konte, and was included on the group's 1970 album, ''Open''. Released as a ...

", which reached No. 4 on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the Canadian

RPM magazine ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

charts.

Career

Blues Image was formed in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1966 by singer-guitarist Mike Pinera, singer-drummer Manuel "Manny" Bertematti, singer-percussionist Joe Lala, keyboardist Emilio Garcia, and bassist Malcolm Jones. They were later joined by keyboardist Frank "Skip" Konte when Emilio Garcia left the band to become a pilot. Blues Image moved to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in 1968, where they were instrumental in helping promoters form the most innovative music venue in

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

, Thee Image. Blues Image became the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

at the club, which featured bands like

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. The band moved to Los Angeles and signed with Atco Records, releasing their self-titled debut album in February 1969. Their second album, ''

Open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (YF ...

'' (April 1970), included the single "

." Written by Pinera and Konte, it featured

Kent Henry Kent Henry Plischke (April 5, 1948 – March 18, 2009), known as Kent Henry, was an American guitarist and songwriter best known for his contributions to Steppenwolf (band), Steppenwolf and Blues Image.UncreditedKent Henry: Guitarist with Steppenw ...

on guitar solo and fills, Pinera playing solo at the end. The album sold over one million copies, and earned a gold record from the

R.I.A.A. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in August 1970. It was Blues Image's only charting hit, making the group a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

. Pinera left the band to join Iron Butterfly in the fall of 1969, during the recording of ''Open'', and was replaced by singer

Denny Correll Dennis "Denny" Correll (February 19, 1946 – November 29, 2002) was a singer in the 1960s rock music group Blues Image as well as a contemporary Christian musician active in the 1970s. He was an early touring member of the seminal Jesus music ...

and guitarist

. The band broke up after the release of their third album, ''Red White & Blues Image'', in May 1970. The various members of Blues Image went on to become parts of other

bands. Bertematti later played and recorded with New Cactus Band and toured with Iron Butterfly,

Chi Coltrane Chi Coltrane (born November 6, 1948) is an American rock/gospel music, gospel singer, songwriter and pianist. She first came to notice in 1972 with the single "Thunder and Lightning (Chi Coltrane song), Thunder and Lightning". Her 1973 song "G ...

, and Bobby Womack. Pinera also played with Iron Butterfly, New Cactus Band,

Ramatam Ramatam was a 1970s rock band featuring Mike Pinera on guitar and vocals, April Lawton on lead guitar, and, for a short time, Mitch Mitchell on drums. Ramatam was notable for having Lawton, a female lead guitarist. Tom Dowd produced their self-tit ...

, and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

. Konte joined Three Dog Night, and Lala played with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Lala's percussion work also figures prominently on the

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...

/ Chris Hillman led group, Manassas. Henry played lead guitar with Steppenwolf prior to their break-up in 1972. Correll later recorded a series of successful

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

(CCM) albums, helped expand the genre's commercial appeal, and achieved airplay with several singles on CCM radio during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He died in 2002. Gary Dunham, who also toured with the last incarnation of Blues Image, also became a solo CCM artist. Pinera has released several solo albums, including ''In the Garden of Eden''. Joe Lala died of complications from lung cancer on March 18, 2014, at the age of 66. The group can briefly be seen performing "

" in the 1971 film, '' Dusty and Sweets McGee''.

Personnel

* Manuel "Manny" Bertematti - drums, vocals (1966-1970) * Joe Lala - percussion, vocals (1966-1970; died 2014) * Malcolm Jones - bass (1966-1970) * Mike Pinera - guitar, vocals (1966-1970) * Emilio Garcia - keyboards (1966-1967) * Frank "Skip" Konte - keyboards (1967-1970) *

- vocals (1970; died 2002) *

- guitar (1970; died 2009) * Michael Franklin * Tim Franklin * Jimmy Tamborra * Bill Britton - guitar (1967; left band 1969)

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

* *
Blues Image biography at Oldies.com

45cat.com entry as 'Blues Image'

45cat.com entry as 'The Blues Image'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blues Image Musical groups from Tampa, Florida Rock music groups from Florida Atco Records artists 1966 establishments in Florida Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Musical groups established in 1966