Blue Thumb Records
Other acts that appeared on the label include Phil Upchurch, Ben Sidran, Last Poets,[2] Gerry Rafferty, The Credibility Gap, The Crusaders, Hugh Masekela, Sam Lay, Sylvester, Southwind, Robbie Basho, Tom Rapp, Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation (licensed from UK Liberty Records), Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, Jimmy Smith, Dave Mason, The Pointer Sisters, The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils, 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, Modereko, and National Lampoon (on the Banana label imprint).Gulf and Western's Famous Music Group took over distribution in mid-1971, then bought the label outright in 1972.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 early 2005, the Blue Thumb imprint was deactivated and was replaced with Verve Forecast to handle such releases.