Editing Federal Records

{{Short description|American record label}}
{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| name        = Federal Records
| image       = <!-- logo, such as "LABEL-LOGO.jpg" -->
| image_size  = <!-- size -->
| image_alt   = <!-- WP:ALT text describing the image -->
| caption     = <!-- a caption for the image -->
| parent      = <!-- parent company, such as "[[Warner Music Group]]" -->
| founded     = 1950
| founder     = <!-- name of founders, separated by using commas, {{Flatlist}} or {{Hlist}} -->
| defunct     = <!-- year the label dissolved, such as {{end date|1990}} -->
| status      = <!-- leave blank unless "Inactive" -->
| distributor = <!-- distributors, separated by using commas, {{Flatlist}} or {{Hlist}} -->
| genre       = <!-- such as "[[World music|World]]" or "Various", separated by using commas, {{Flatlist}} or {{Hlist}} -->
| country     = United States
| location    = <!-- headquarters city and state -->
| website     = <!-- such as "{{URL|www.atlanticrecords.com}}" -->
}}

'''Federal Records''' was an American [[record label]] founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of [[Syd Nathan]]'s [[King Records (USA)|King Records]] and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by famed [[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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/labels/f/f432.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201141958/http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/labels/f/f432.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-01 |title=Federal |publisher=Rockin' Country Style |access-date=2008-12-31 }}</ref> Singles were published on both 45 and 78 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]] speed formats.

Federal issued such classics as [[The Dominoes]]' "[[Sixty Minute Man]]", and "[[Have Mercy Baby]]"<ref name="first">{{cite book|title=What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record|last=Jim Dawson|first=& Steve Propes|author-link=Steve Propes|publisher=Faber & Faber|year=1992|isbn=0-571-12939-0|location=Boston & London|pages=21–25}}</ref> as well as [[Hank Ballard]] & [[The Midnighters]]' "[[Work with Me, Annie]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=64|title=Ralph Bass|publisher=rockhall of fame|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017154207/http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=64|archive-date=2006-10-17|access-date=2006-11-08}}</ref>  which was opposed immediately by the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) but went on to be an enormous hit.<ref>{{cite book|title=What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record|last=Jim Dawson|first=& Steve Propes|publisher=Faber & Faber|year=1992|isbn=0-571-12939-0|location=Boston & London|pages=76–79}}</ref>

[[James Brown (musician)|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 (James Brown song)|Please, Please, Please]]," was a regional hit and eventually sold a million copies.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.history-of-rock.com/james_brown.htm
|title=James Brown
|publisher=history-of-rock
|access-date=2006-11-08
}}</ref>

Between 1962 and 1965, [[Freddie King]], one of the three [[blues]] [[Honorific nicknames in popular music|"kings"]] (Freddie, B.B. and Albert), released a [[Freddie King discography|series of albums]], mostly [[instrumentals]], for Federal.

[[Johnny "Guitar" Watson]] was another artist on Federal Records.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Edwards
| first = David
|author2=Mike Callahan
| title = King/Federal/DeLuxe Story
| publisher = Both Sides Now Pubs
| date = 1998-01-10
| url = http://www.bsnpubs.com/king/kingstory.html
| access-date = 2009-08-02}}</ref>

== Selected discography ==

=== Singles ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!'''Catalog No.'''
!Release
date
![[Billboard Hot 100|US]]
![[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|US]]
[[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B]]
!'''Single (A-side, B-side)'''
!Artist
|-
|12001<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=December 16, 1950|title=Federal Records ad|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1950/Billboard%201950-12-16.pdf|magazine=Billboard|pages=39}}</ref>
|Dec 1950
|
|6
|"Do Something For Me"
<small>b/w "Chicken Blues"</small>
|[[Billy Ward and his Dominoes|The Dominoes]]
|-
|10003
|Mar 1951
|
|
|"Rockin’ and Rollin'" 
<small>b/w "You Done Me Wrong"</small>
|[[Ramblin' Tommy Scott|Tommy Scott]]
|-
|12022<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=May 12, 1951|title=Federal Records ad|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1951/Billboard%201951-05-12.pdf|magazine=Billboard|pages=31}}</ref>
|May 1951
|17
|1
|"[[Sixty Minute Man]]"
<small>b/w "I Can't Escape From You"</small>
|The Dominoes
|-
|12055<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=December 8, 1951|title=R&B Records to Watch|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1951/Billboard%201951-12-08.pdf|magazine=Billboard|pages=43}}</ref>
|Dec 1951
|
|8
|"Ring-A-Ding-Doo"
<small>b/w "The Crying Blues"</small>
|[[Esther Phillips|Little Esther]] and Mel with the J. And O. Orchestra
|-
|12068
|1952
|
|1
|"[[Have Mercy Baby]]"
<small>b/w "Deep Sea Blues"</small>
|The Dominoes
|-
|12070<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.globaldogproductions.info/f/federal.html|title=45 discography for Federal Records|website=Globaldogproductions.info|access-date=September 4, 2022}}</ref>
|1952
|
|
|"[[Drill Daddy Drill]]"
<small>b/w "Must Go Out and Play"</small>
|[[Dorothy Ellis]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |12114
| rowspan="2" |Dec 1952
|
|3
|"The Bells"
| rowspan="2" |Billy Ward & His Dominoes
|-
|
|4
|"Pedal Pushin' Papa"
|-
|12169
|Apr 1954
|
|1
|"Work with Me Annie"
<small>b/w "Until I Die"</small>
|[[The Midnighters]]
|-
|12195
|Aug 1954
|
|1
|"Annie Had A Baby"
<small>b/w "She's The One"</small>
|The Midnighters
|-
|12200
|Oct 1954
|
|10
|Annie's Aunt Fannie
<small>b/w "Crazy Loving (Stay With Me)"</small>
|The Midnighters
|-
|12265<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=April 23, 1956|title=Reviews of New R&B Records|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1956/Billboard%201956-04-28.pdf|magazine=Billboard|pages=60}}</ref>
|Apr 1956
|
|
|"I'm Tore Up"
<small>b/w "If I Never Had Known You"</small>
|[[Billy Gayles]] with Ike Turner's Rhythm Rockers
|-
|12258
|Mar 1956
|
|6
|"[[Please, Please, Please (James Brown song)|Please, Please, Please]]"
<small>b/w "Why Do You Do Me"</small>
|[[James Brown]] with [[the Famous Flames]]
|-
|12283<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=November 3, 1956|title=Reviews of New R&B Records|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1956/Billboard%201956-11-03.pdf|magazine=Billboard|pages=50}}</ref>
|Oct 1956
|
|
|"What Can It Be"
<small>b/w "Gonna Wait For My Chance"</small>
|[[Jackie Brenston]] with Ike Turner's [[Kings of Rhythm]]
|-
|12284<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=November 10, 1956|title=Reviews of New R&B Records|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1956/Billboard%201956-11-10.pdf|magazine=Billboard|pages=136}}</ref>
|Nov 1956
|
|
|"Flaming Love" 
<small>b/w "My Baby's Tops"</small>
|[[The Gardenias]]
|-
|12297<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=May 20, 1957|title=Reviews of New R&B Records|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1957/Billboard%201957-05-20.pdf|magazine=Billboard|pages=150}}</ref>
|May 1957
|
|
|"Do You Mean It"
<small>b/w "She Made My Blood Run Cold"</small>
|[[Ike Turner]] & His Orchestra
|-
|12337
|Oct 1958
|48
|1
|"[[Try Me (James Brown song)|Try Me]]"
<small>b/w "Tell Me What I Did Wrong"</small>
|James Brown and the Famous Flames
|-
| rowspan="2" |12370
| rowspan="2" |May 1960
|33
|7
|"[[Think (The "5" Royales song)|Think]]"
| rowspan="2" |James Brown and the Famous Flames
|-
|86
|14
|"[[You've Got the Power (James Brown song)|You've Got the Power]]"
|-
|12401
|Jan 1961
|29
|5
|"[[Hide Away (instrumental)|Hide Away]]" 
<small>b/w "I Love the Woman"</small>
|[[Freddie King]]
|-
|12524
|Jul 1964
|
|
|"Uncle Willie's Got A Thing Goin' On"
<small>b/w "Our Kind Of Love"</small>
|[[Willie Dixon]] and the Big Wheels
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of record labels]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://bsnpubs.com/king/kingstory.html King/Federal/DeLuxe Story] by David Edwards and Mike Callahan
* [https://archive.org/details/georgeblood?and%5B%5D=publisher:federal Federal Records] on the Internet Archive's [http://great78.archive.org/ Great 78 Project]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Record labels established in 1950]]
[[Category:Defunct record labels of the United States]]
[[Category:Soul music record labels]]
[[Category:Federal Records artists|!]]

{{US-record-label-stub}}