Blues Image-Open (1970)

Blues Image was founded during the heyday of the great American country rock groups, sharing the stage with Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, and Poco. Formed in Florida in 1966 around guitarist Mike Pinera, Kent Henry (guitar), Joe Lala (vocals and percussion), Frank Konte (keyboards), Malcolm Jones (bass), and Manuel Bertematti (drums), they achieved their first and only international success in 1970 with their album "Open" and the hit single "Ride Captain Ride". Prior to this, they had released their self-titled debut album, "Blues Image" (1969), which had garnered them some international recognition. After this second album, the group experienced instability due to frequent lineup changes, despite releasing another album in 1970, "Red White & Blues Image", which went largely unnoticed. Pinera later joined Iron Butterfly, and the band finally dissolved in 1970. Blue Image has remained one of the great unjustly forgotten groups of North American West Coast music.