External links
- King/Federal/DeLuxe Story by David Edwards and Mike Callahan
- Federal Records on the Internet Archive's Great 78 Project
 | This article about a United States record label is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| Federal Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1950 |
| Country of origin | United States |
Federal Records was an American record label founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King Records and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by record producer Ralph Bass and was mainly devoted to rhythm & blues releases. The company also released hillbilly and rockabilly recordings from 1951 onward, e.g., "Rockin' and Rollin" by Ramblin' Tommy Scott on Federal 10003. [1] Singles were published on both 45 and 78 rpm speed formats.
Federal issued such classics as the Dominoes' "Sixty Minute Man", and "Have Mercy Baby" [2] as well as Hank Ballard & the Midnighters' "Work with Me, Annie" [3] which was opposed immediately by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) but went on to be an enormous hit. [4]
James Brown was touring with the Famous Flames when they were signed to Federal in 1956. The group's first Federal single, "Please, Please, Please", was a regional hit and eventually sold a million copies. [5]
Between 1962 and 1965, Freddie King, one of the three blues "kings" (Freddie, B.B. and Albert), released a series of albums, mostly instrumentals, for Federal.
Johnny "Guitar" Watson was another artist on Federal Records. [6]
| Catalog No. | Release date | US | US | Single (A-side, B-side) | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12001 [7] | Dec 1950 | 6 | "Do Something For Me" b/w "Chicken Blues" | The Dominoes | |
| 10003 | Mar 1951 | "Rockin’ and Rollin'" b/w "You Done Me Wrong" | Tommy Scott | ||
| 12022 [8] | May 1951 | 17 | 1 | "Sixty Minute Man" b/w "I Can't Escape From You" | The Dominoes |
| 12055 [9] | Dec 1951 | 8 | "Ring-A-Ding-Doo" b/w "The Crying Blues" | Little Esther and Mel with the J. And O. Orchestra | |
| 12068 | 1952 | 1 | "Have Mercy Baby" b/w "Deep Sea Blues" | The Dominoes | |
| 12070 [10] | 1952 | "Drill Daddy Drill" b/w "Must Go Out and Play" | Dorothy Ellis | ||
| 12114 | Dec 1952 | 3 | "The Bells" | Billy Ward & His Dominoes | |
| 4 | "Pedal Pushin' Papa" | ||||
| 12169 | Apr 1954 | 1 | "Work with Me Annie" b/w "Until I Die" | The Midnighters | |
| 12195 | Aug 1954 | 1 | "Annie Had A Baby" b/w "She's The One" | The Midnighters | |
| 12200 | Oct 1954 | 10 | Annie's Aunt Fannie b/w "Crazy Loving (Stay With Me)" | The Midnighters | |
| 12265 [11] | Apr 1956 | "I'm Tore Up" b/w "If I Never Had Known You" | Billy Gayles with Ike Turner's Rhythm Rockers | ||
| 12258 | Mar 1956 | 6 | "Please, Please, Please" b/w "Why Do You Do Me" | James Brown with the Famous Flames | |
| 12283 [12] | Oct 1956 | "What Can It Be" b/w "Gonna Wait For My Chance" | Jackie Brenston with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm | ||
| 12284 [13] | Nov 1956 | "Flaming Love" b/w "My Baby's Tops" | The Gardenias | ||
| 12297 [14] | May 1957 | "Do You Mean It" b/w "She Made My Blood Run Cold" | Ike Turner & His Orchestra | ||
| 12337 | Oct 1958 | 48 | 1 | "Try Me" b/w "Tell Me What I Did Wrong" | James Brown and the Famous Flames |
| 12370 | May 1960 | 33 | 7 | "Think" | James Brown and the Famous Flames |
| 86 | 14 | "You've Got the Power" | |||
| 12401 | Jan 1961 | 29 | 5 | "Hide Away" b/w "I Love the Woman" | Freddie King |
| 12524 | Jul 1964 | "Uncle Willie's Got A Thing Goin' On" b/w "Our Kind Of Love" | Willie Dixon and the Big Wheels |
| | This article about a United States record label is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |