US record label founded by Ralph Bass became a partner, and began managing the label, sourcing the talent, and producing.
For company credits, please use Federal Records (2).
For unofficial releases, please use Federal (6).
The label originally had two divisions, a 'Hillbilly Series' and a 'Rhythm, Blues & Spiritual Series'. A publishing company Johnny Otis also produced several singles for the label.
The brand was revived as a "best of" budget line by King Records, Inc. in the early 90s.
Help on identifying first pressings:
45 RPM Catalog Number, Date and Label Identification:
12001-12084 (1950–1952): Green label with gold top and "AA" following the number.
12085-12129 (1952–1953): Green label with gold top. No "AA" following the number.
12130-12196 (1953–1954): Green label with silver top. Some in this series were green with gold top.
12197-12244 (1954–1955): Green label without "Hi-Fidelity".
12245-12369 (1955–1959): Green label with "Hi-Fidelity" in small print. Dash (—) in the selection number between the "45" and 12,000 series number (i.e. 45—12496).
12370 and higher (1959 forward): Green label with "Hi-Fidelity" in larger print. Hyphen (-) in the selection number between the "45" and 12,000 series number (i.e. 45-12496).
Blue plastic issues exist between 12050 and approximately 12070.
