Mike Pinera, Guitarist for Blues Image & Iron Butterfly, Dies at 76

Guitarist-vocalist Mike Pinera, who co-wrote the 1970 top 5 hit “Ride, Captain, Ride” for the band Blues Image, then joined Iron Butterfly, Ramatam and Alice Cooper’s Special Forces band, died on Nov. 20, 2024. The news was confirmed by the St. Pete Catalyst website, based near his hometown. Pinera was 76.

The cause of death was reportedly liver failure. Pinera had been ill for some time; a GoFundMe page was created in early 2024 to raise funds for a liver transplant, but had stopped accepting donations several months ago.

Carlos Michael Pinera was born September 29, 1948, in Tampa, Fla., and co-founded Blues Image there in 1966. According to writer Bill DeYoung in the Catalyst’s obituary, “Band founders Pinera, Mike Betematti (drums), Malcolm Jones (bass) and Joe Lala (percussion) met as students at Tampa’s Jefferson High School. Pinera had been part of the Impalas, the Motions and the El Dorados, teen garage bands.”

Two years after forming, the band relocated to Miami, where it became the house band at a music venue called Thee Image. The band then moved to Los Angeles and signed with Atco Records, releasing its self-titled debut album in 1969, the same year that they toured as support act to a new group called Led Zeppelin. Blues Image’s sophomore album, Open, included “Ride, Captain, Ride,” a song co-written by Pinera and keyboardist Frank “Skip” Conte. Pinera sang the lead on the recording and played the second guitar solo toward the end of the song; the single rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Related: The story behind “Ride, Captain, Ride”

Mike Pinera in 1977 (Photo courtesy of SRI Records)

Blues Image was unable to follow with another hit and by the time “Ride Captain Ride” reached the top 10 Pinera had left anyway, accepting an offer to replace the departing guitarist Erik Brann in Iron Butterfly. That group had already made waves with its signature hit “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,” but Pinera, who contributed to 1970’s Metamorphosis album, remained with them into 1972 and then rejoined periodically as various band members reunited in the ’70s-’90s. [Ed. Note: Brann died in 2003, and all of the other members of the classic Iron Butterfly—Doug Ingle, Ron Bushy and Lee Dorman—have also died.]

In 1972, Pinera and former Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell co-founded the band Ramatam, but both left after releasing their self-titled debut album. Pinera subsequently joined the New Cactus Band, then, in 1977, released his debut solo album, Isla, followed by Forever in 1979. In the early ’80s, Pinera joined Alice Cooper’s Special Forces band and played on Cooper’s 1981 Special Forces album. In 1992, Pinera formed the band the Classic Rock All Stars, featuring members of Rare Earth, War and other bands.

Related: Musicians and other celebrities we’ve lost in 2024

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Jeff Tamarkin

Best Classic Bands Editor Jeff Tamarkin has been a prolific music journalist for more than four decades. He is formerly the editor of Goldmine, CMJ and Relix magazines, has written for dozens of other publications and has authored liner notes for more than 80 CDs. Jeff has also served on the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and as a consultant to the Grammys. His first book was 'Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.' He is also the co-author of 'Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.,' with Howard Kaylan.

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