The Federals

The Federals were formed in Kingston, Jamaica, in the mid-'60s by Valman Smykle, <a href="spotify:artist:0mHMcDSI3IDF5t6DBeGy0k">A.J. Franklin</a> (aka <a href="spotify:artist:0mHMcDSI3IDF5t6DBeGy0k">Franklin Spence</a>), and <a href="spotify:artist:5u1Y8hqSvTwy7KZ9md2B3G">Scotty</a> (born <a href="spotify:artist:5u1Y8hqSvTwy7KZ9md2B3G">David Scott</a>) -- the latter two both born in Westmoreland and transplanted to Kingston -- who were performing professionally by the end of 1967. They were working in the Sombrero Club in Kingston when they were seen by former singer <a href="spotify:artist:1ht9oSlPiNywrg22T2sM8d">Derrick Harriott</a>, a producer/promoter who took them under his wing. The Federals scored a hit with "Penny for Your Song," which put them on the map as one of the top new groups of the period and a major draw.

They endured across a string of subsequent singles, including "By the River" and "Shocking Love," that failed to chart, working under the aegis of <a href="spotify:artist:1ht9oSlPiNywrg22T2sM8d">Harriott</a>, who booked them as part of a package tour known as "<a href="spotify:artist:1ht9oSlPiNywrg22T2sM8d">Derrick Harriott</a>'s Musical Chariot." Their lack of success and remuneration -- <a href="spotify:artist:1ht9oSlPiNywrg22T2sM8d">Harriott</a>, like most producers of the period, regarded royalty payments as more of an abstract idea than an obligation, and the tour money that was the group's bread and butter had a limit -- took its toll, and in 1969 Smykle moved to New York. The Federals came to a halt until <a href="spotify:artist:5u1Y8hqSvTwy7KZ9md2B3G">Scotty</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0mHMcDSI3IDF5t6DBeGy0k">Franklin</a> were bailed out by Noel "Bunny" Brown, who joined and was followed into the lineup by Richard MacDonald. The quartet was renamed <a href="spotify:artist:1qRPkug5FrvouQ1oOX5fso">the Chosen Few</a>, beginning a new and separate history. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi