Song · Blues Image
“Ride Captain Ride” by Blues Image
From the album Open (1970)
“Ride Captain Ride” by Blues Image appears on 10 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1997 and 2025. It was first released in 1970 on the album Open. Its best result is #97 on the WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,814 classic rock song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Blues Image - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Blues Image found their one Top 40 hit in "Ride Captain Ride", from their 1970 album Open, and the idea came from the least romantic place imaginable: Mike Pinera counting the keys on his Rhodes piano. That number, 73, became the size of the crew setting out from San Francisco Bay. Pinera, the band's singer and guitarist, wrote it with keyboardist Frank "Skip" Konte, and Richard Podolor produced.
It's a sea shanty for the freak-flag set: the sailors call on everyone to come away to a new land where they'll be free, the folks on shore are too tangled in their own troubles to listen, and the ship sails off and vanishes for good. Kent Henry plays the fills and the main guitar solo, with Pinera taking the one at the very end. A trimmed single went up to number four in America and Canada that spring.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 487 | 100.7 WZLX | WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) | 499 |
| 2002 | 905 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2010 | 97 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) | 885 |
| 2014 | 512 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2021 | 789 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) | 1043 |
| 2022 | 865 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) | 1043 |
| 2022 | 438 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2024 | 656 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) | 1043 |
| 2024 | 423 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2024) | 500 |
| 2025 | 491 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2025) | 500 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Ride Captain Ride" by Blues Image.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.