Blue Thumb Records was the idea of Bob Krasnow, who by 1968 had traveled all over the country with James Brown and then settled down to run King and then Kama Sutra Records. He recruited producer Tommy LiPuma and marketer Don Graham, both execs with A&M at the time, to join him in starting a different kind of record company. The label name came from Captain Beefheart, who was going to name his new blues band Blue Thumb before Krasnow talked him out of it for the band, but told Beefheart he'd like it as the name for his label. Krasnow and company located the label's offices in Beverly Hills, making it the first upscale alternative music label.

The label was originally distributed independently, and used the BTS-1 sequence for their issues. This lasted from 1968 until late 1970, when the label entered into a short agreement with Capitol Records for distribution. Capitol reissued several of the back catalogue issues with the altered number sequence adding an "88" before the album number, so BT-3 became BT-8803, etc. After the Capitol contract expired in 1971, Blue Thumb went with ABC Records for distribution. This lasted until 1974, when ABC purchased the label from Krasnow and the ABC logo started appearing on the label next to the Blue Thumb logo.

A large number of the Blue Thumb albums charted, a much greater percentage than most labels, and for that matter, even the parent ABC label. In addition to the music, Blue Thumb packaged their albums to appeal to the targeted buyer. Most had fold-open record jackets, and the graphics were never predictable. Probably the most famous album packaging of all time was the (ex-Traffic, ex-Derek & the Dominoes) Dave Mason album Alone Together, [BTS 19], which was packaged in a three-fold "kangaroo pack" which opened to a poster for wall hanging (it even had a small hole in the top for the nail). At the bottom of this poster was a pouch for the record album, which was meant to be viewed as well as heard. The record itself was unique - - literally. It was pressed in a marbled vinyl made by dropping colored pellets into the hot vinyl mix so that the color pattern of each record was different. The label on this issue only was a special orange label meant to complement the color scheme of the marbled vinyl. Later pressings of the album were on black vinyl, and the cover was a standard fold-open jacket. As eye-catching as the packaging was, it wouldn't have sold nearly as well if the album inside hadn't been first-rate. In fact, it was arguably Dave Mason's finest album ever, including his 1970 hit "Only You Know and I Know," which also charted for his friends Delaney & Bonnie the next year, and a wealth of FM airplay material.


The artists on Blue Thumb were an eclectic group, to be sure. In addition to Dave Mason, they included Captain Beefheart, the Pointer Sisters, Southwind (a group that included Moon Martin), Ike & Tina Turner, early T. Rex (as Tyrannosaurus Rex), Aynsley Dunbar, Clifton Chenier, Love, Mark-Almond, the Crusaders, Albert Collins, Cass Elliott, Dan Hicks, Jesse Hill, the National Lampoon, Ken Nordine, and even W.C. Fields! They also had the Doors after Jim Morrison's death, who went by the name "The Butts Band."

After 1974, when Blue Thumb was absorbed into ABC, the label continued issuing albums sporadically until about 1979, when MCA took over ABC and dropped the label. Further reissues were on the MCA label. More recently, Blue Thumb has made a slight comeback, revitalizing itself from the MCA empire under GRP Records, and issuing a fine retrospective of the label in 1995 (All Day Thumbsucker Revisited).














The first Blue Thumb label was black with white print. The Blue Thumb logo was in blue inside an arched window above the center hole. This label was used only in 1968, on LPs 1 through 4. The second label was off-white with black print. Above the center hole on the left side was a blue thumb print. This label was used from 1969 to 1974, approximately from LP 5 to LP 64. Occasionally, as on Southwind's Ready to Ride album [BTS 13], a special label was used (in this case, one with orange print in a distinctive font), or the special label used for BTS 19, as mentioned above. The third label was the standard ABC label of the time, purple near the center moving to gold on the outer edge of the label. Above the center hole was the ABC logo with "Blue Thumb" beside it. The blue thumb print was to the right of the logo.

Blue Thumb also provided a special label, Banana, for the National Lampoon releases. The label was green with a banana curved around the bottom. The Banana issues used the same Blue Thumb numbering sequence.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Blue Thumb Records. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (all of which are out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 2002, 2005 by Mike Callahan.