Blue Thumb Records
| Blue Thumb Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Founder | Bob Krasnow, Tommy LiPuma, Don Graham |
| Status | Inactive/Defunct |
| Distributor(s) |
Hip-O Records (re-issues) |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | United States |
Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow, along with former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978.
History
Bob Krasnow had been in the record business for a number of years, working as a promotion man for King Records and also working for Buddah/Kama Sutra Records. Blue Thumb was originally intended to be the name of Captain Beefheart's band, but Krasnow did not think the name was right for the group. However, he chose the name for his label.
Acts that appeared on the label include Beefheart, The Credibility Gap, The Crusaders, Hugh Masekela, Sam Lay, Sylvester, Southwind, Robbie Basho, Tom Rapp, Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation (licensed from UK Liberty Records), Modereko, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, Jimmy Smith, Dave Mason, The Pointer Sisters, T. Rex (in its earlier incarnation as Tyrannosaurus Rex, licensed from the UK's Regal Zonophone Records), Ike & Tina Turner, Love, Gábor Szabó, Mark-Almond, and National Lampoon (on the Banana label imprint).
Blue Thumb originally used independent distribution, but went to Capitol/EMI for distribution in late 1970. Gulf and Western's Famous Music Group took over distribution in mid-1971, then bought the label outright in 1972. Late in 1974, the Famous Music record labels were sold to ABC Records. ABC kept Blue Thumb active for a time, mostly for albums by the Pointer Sisters and the Crusaders as well as some reissues. In 1979 ABC sold its labels to MCA Records, which discontinued the Blue Thumb imprint altogether.
In the United Kingdom and Europe, Blue Thumb releases were licensed to Harvest Records (also owned by EMI) from 1969 to 1971, and to Island Records thereafter.
The label was revived in 1995 for blues and soft rock releases. This remained so, even after the 1998 merger with parent Universal Music Group and PolyGram and being put under the fold of the Verve Music Group, continuing to be Verve's imprint for non-jazz releases. In early 2005, the Blue Thumb imprint was deactivated and was replaced with Verve Forecast to handle such releases. UMG's reissue arm Hip-O Records has reissued several Blue Thumb recordings, including such acts as the Crusaders, Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks and the Pointer Sisters.
Catalog[1]
| Catalog | Year | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTS 1 | 1968 | Strictly Personal | Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | Beefheart was going to name his band “Blue Thumb” but Krasnow felt it worked better as a label name[2] |
| BTS 2 | 1968 | An Album of Political Pornography | Irwin, LewLew Irwin & The Credibility Gap | |
| BTS 3 | 1968 | Original and Authentic Recordings by the Great W.C. Fields | Fields, W.C.W.C. Fields | |
| BTS 4 | 1968 | The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation | Dunbar, AynsleyAynsley Dunbar Retaliation | |
| BTS 5 | 1969 | Outta Season | Ike & Tina Turner | |
| BTS 6 | 1969 | Doctor Dunbar's Prescription | Dunbar, AynsleyAynsley Dunbar Retaliation | |
| BTS 7 | 1969 | Unicorn | Tyrannosaurus Rex | |
| BTS 8 | 1969 | Truckin' with Albert Collins | Collins, AlbertAlbert Collins | Reissue of The Cool Sounds of Albert Collins (TCF Hall, 1965) |
| BTS 9 | 1970 | Coming Home | Chicago Blue Stars | Personnel includes Charlie Musselwhite, Fred Roulette, Louis Myers, Skip Rose, Jack Myers and Fred Below |
| BTS 10 | 1969 | Venus in Cancer | Basho, RobbieRobbie Basho | |
| BTS 11 | 1969 | The Hunter | Ike & Tina Turner | |
| BTS 12 | 1969 | Sweet Black Angel | Hooker, EarlEarl Hooker | |
| BTS 13 | 1969 | Ready to Ride | Southwind | |
| BTS 14 | 1969 | Sam Lay in Bluesland | Lay, SamSam Lay's Bluesband | |
| BTS 15 | 1969 | Clifton Chenier's Very Best | Chenier, CliftonClifton Chenier | |
| BTS 16 | 1970 | To Mum From Aynsley and the Boys | Dunbar, AynsleyAynsley Dunbar Retaliation | |
| BTS 17 | 1969 | Alegria! | Bossa Rio | |
| BTS 18 | 1970 | A Beard of Stars | Tyrannosaurus Rex | |
| BTS 19 | 1970 | Alone Together | Mason, DaveDave Mason | On multi-colored vinyl |
| BTS 20 | 1970 | Buddy and the Juniors | Guy, BuddyBuddy Guy, Junior Mance & Junior Wells | |
| BTS 21 | 1970 | A Bad Donato | Donato, JoãoJoão Donato | |
| BTS 22 | 1970 | False Start | Love | |
| BTS 23 | 1970 | Magical Connection | Szabó, GáborGábor Szabó | |
| BTS 24 | ||||
| BTS 25 | 1971 | Dave Mason & Cass Elliot | Mason, DaveDave Mason and Cass Elliot | |
| BTS 26 | 1970 | What a Place to Land | Southwind | |
| BTS 27 | 1971 | Mark-Almond | Mark-Almond | |
| BTS 28 | 1971 | High Contrast | Szabó, GáborGábor Szabó | featuring Bobby Womack |
| BTS 29 | 1971 | Where's the Money? | Hicks, DanDan Hicks & His Hot Licks | |
| BTS 30 | 1971 | Recorded Live at Bimbo's, San Francisco | Pierce, CharlesCharles Pierce | |
| BTS 31 | 1971 | Naturally | Hill, JessieJessie Hill | |
| BTS 32 | 1972 | Mark-Almond II | Mark-Almond | |
| BTS 33 | 1971 | How Are Things in Your Town? | Nordine, KenKen Nordine | 2LP Compilation of material previously released on Dot Records |
| BTS 34 | 1972 | Headkeeper | Mason, DaveDave Mason | |
| BTS 35 | 1972 | Crazed Hipsters | Finningan & Wood | |
| BTS 36 | 1972 | Striking It Rich | Hicks, DanDan Hicks & His Hot Licks | |
| BTS 37 | 1972 | Luis Gasca | Gasca, LuisLuis Gasca | aka For Those Who Chant |
| Banana BTS 38 | 1972 | Radio Dinner | National Lampoon | |
| BTS 39 | 1972 | Chastisement | Last Poets, TheThe Last Poets | |
| BTS 40 | 1972 | I Lead a Life | Sidran, BenBen Sidran | |
| BTS 41 | 1973 | Space Is the Place | Sun Ra | Released as a quadraphonic LP only, and 8-track |
| BTS 42 | 1972 | The Barbeque of Deville | Hoodoo Rhythm Devils | |
| BTS 43 | 1972 | Private Tonight | Adams, ArthurArthur Adams | |
| BTS 44 | 1972 | Stardancer | Rapp, TomTom Rapp | |
| BTS 45 | 1973 | Sylvester and the Hot Band | Sylvester and the Hot Band | |
| BTS 46 | 1973 | Singing/Playing | Carlton, LarryLarry Carlton | |
| BTS 47 | 1973 | Supermellow | Humphrey, PaulPaul Humphrey | |
| BTS 48 | 1973 | The Pointer Sisters | Pointer Sisters, TheThe Pointer Sisters | |
| BTS 49 | 1973 | The Best of Ike & Tina Turner | Ike & Tina Turner | Compilation |
| BTS 50 | 1973 | The Best of Mark-Almond | Mark-Almond | Compilation |
| BTS 51 | 1973 | Last Train to Hicksville... The Home of Happy Feet | Hicks, DanDan Hicks & His Hot Licks | |
| BTS 52 | 1973 | At Last | Last Poets, TheThe Last Poets | |
| BTS 53 | ||||
| BTS 54 | 1973 | Dave Mason is Alive! | Mason, DaveDave Mason | |
| BTS 55 | 1973 | Puttin' in Time on Planet Earth | Sidran, BenBen Sidran | |
| BTS 56 | 1973 | Sunforest | Rapp, TomTom Rapp / Pearls Before Swine | |
| BTS 57 | 1973 | What the Kids Want | Hoodoo Rhythm Devils | |
| BTS 58 | 1973 | Can I Have My Money Back? | Rafferty, GerryGerry Rafferty | Reissue of Transatlantic Records album |
| BTS 59 | 1973 | Lovin' Feelin' | Upchurch, PhilPhil Upchurch | |
| BTS 60 | 1973 | Bazaar | Sylvester & The Hot Band | |
| BTS 61 | 1973 | Face to Face | Pace, EvanEvan Pace | |
| BTS 62 | 1972 | Introducing Hedzoleh Sounds | Masekela, HughHugh Masekela | |
| BTS 63 | 1973 | Butts Band | Butts Band | Featuring Robby Krieger and John Densmore |
| BTS 64 | 1974 | Aim for the Highest | Aim | |
| BTS 65 | ||||
| BTS 66 | 1974 | America, Wake Up | Humphrey, PaulPaul Humphrey | |
| BTS 880 | 1975 | Split Coconut | Mason, DaveDave Mason | |
| BTS 6000 | 1969 | Memphis Swamp Jam | Various Artists | Featuring Bukka White, Piano Red, Nathan Beauregard, Sleepy John Estes, Fred McDowell & Johnny Woods, Furry Lewis, R.L. Watson & Josiah Jones |
| BTS 6001 | 1972 | Crusaders 1 | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | Two record set |
| BTS 6002 | ||||
| BTS 6003 | 1973 | Home Is Where the Music Is | Masekela, HughHugh Masekela | Two record set |
| BTS 6004 | 1972 | Lights Out: San Francisco | Various Artists | Two record set featuring John Lee Hooker, Clifford Coulter, Tower Of Power, Sylvester and The Hot Band, Fadil Shahin and The Casbah Band, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks |
| BTS 6005 | 1972 | Darkess Darkness | Upchurch, PhilPhil Upchurch | |
| Banana BTS 6006 | 1973 | Lemmings | National Lampoon | |
| BTS 6007 | 1973 | Unsung Heroes | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | |
| Banana BTS 6008 | 1974 | The Missing White House Tapes | National Lampoon | |
| BTS 6009 | 1974 | That's a Plenty | Pointer Sisters, TheThe Pointer Sisters | |
| BTS 6010 | 1974 | Scratch | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | |
| BTS 6011 | 1974 | Italian Graffiti | DeCaro, NickNick DeCaro | |
| BTS 6012 | 1974 | Don't Let Go | Sidran, BenBen Sidran | |
| BTS 6013 | 1974 | The Best of Dave Mason | Mason, DaveDave Mason | |
| BTS 6014 | 1974 | Gabor Szabo Live | Szabó, GáborGábor Szabó | |
| BTS 6015 | 1974 | I Am Not Afraid | Masekela, HughHugh Masekela | |
| BTS 6016 | 1974 | The Big Bow-Wow Strain | Burgan, KenKen Burgan | |
| BTS 6017 | ||||
| BTSD 6018 | 1975 | Hear and Now | Butts Band | |
| BTSD 6019 | 1975 | New Year, New Band, New Company | Mayall, JohnJohn Mayall | |
| BTSD 6020 | ||||
| BTSD 6021 | 1975 | Steppin' | Pointer Sisters, TheThe Pointer Sisters | |
| BTSD 6022 | 1975 | Chain Reaction | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | |
| BTSD 6023 | 1977 | Having a Party | Pointer Sisters, TheThe Pointer Sisters | |
| BTSD 6024 | 1976 | Those Southern Knights | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | |
| BTSD 6025 | ||||
| BTSY 6026/2 | 1976 | The Best of the Pointer Sisters | Pointer Sisters, TheThe Pointer Sisters | Two record set |
| BTS 6027 | 1976 | The Best of the Crusaders | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | Two record set |
| BTS 6028 | 1977 | Come Into Knowledge | RAMP | |
| BT 6029 | 1977 | Free as the Wind | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | |
| BT 6030 | 1978 | Images | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | |
| BT 6031 | 1978 | Can I Have My Money Back? | Rafferty, GerryGerry Rafferty | Reissue of BTS 58 |
| BT 6032 | 1978 | Very Best of Dave Mason | Mason, DaveDave Mason | |
| BTS 7000 | 1973 | The 2nd Crusade | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | Two record set |
| BTS 7001 | ||||
| BT3 7002 | 1995 | All Day Thumb Sucker Revisited: The History of Blue Thumb Records | Various Artists | Three record set label sampler - despite the title, this release shares no tracks with the 1970 original |
| BTS 8001 | ||||
| BTS 8002 | 1974 | Live at the Opera House | Pointer Sisters, TheThe Pointer Sisters | |
| BTS 8701 | ||||
| BTS 8702 | 1970 | All Day Thumb Sucker | Various Artists | Label sampler |
| BTS 8703 | ||||
| BTS 8704 | ||||
| BTS 8705 | ||||
| BTS 8706 | 1971 | Memphis Swamp Jam | Various Artists | Reissue of BTS 6000 |
| BTS 8805 | 1971 | Outta Season | Ike & Tina Turner | Reissue of BTS 5 |
| BTS 8813 | 1971 | Ready to Ride | Southwind | Reissue of BTS 13 |
| BTS 8817 | 1971 | Alegria! | Bossa Rio | Reissue of BTS 17 |
| BTS 8818 | 1971 | A Beard of Stars | Tyrannosaurus Rex | Reissue of BTS 18 |
| BTS 8819 | 1971 | Alone Together | Mason, DaveDave Mason | Reissue of BTS 19 on standard black vinyl |
| BTS 8820 | 1971 | Buddy and the Juniors | Guy, BuddyBuddy Guy, Junior Mance & Junior Wells | Reissue of BTS 20 |
| BTS 9000 | 1969 | Out Here | Love | Two record set |
| BTS 9001 | 1972 | Lenny | Bruce, LennyLenny Bruce | Two record set |
| BT 9002 | 1974 | Southern Comfort | Crusaders, TheThe Crusaders | Two record set |
See also
References
- ↑ Edwards, D., Eyries, P. and Callahan, M. Blue Thumb/Banana Album Discography, accessed November 13, 2015
- ↑ http://www.bsnpubs.com/abc/bluethumb.html