Editing Ralph Records

{{Short description|Independent record label active between 1972 and 1989}}
'''Ralph Records''' was an independent record label active between 1972 and 1989, best known for being initially run by avant-garde art collective, ''[[The Residents]]''. The name arose from the slang phrase for vomiting, "calling Ralph on the porcelain telephone".

Ralph was founded in [[1972 in music|1972]], shortly after the Residents had moved to [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], when they realized that it was the only entity willing to publish their work. They "unincorporated" themselves as the Residents Uninc. and managed the new company under that name. One of the group's members could draw, so they gave the company a graphic design wing called Porno Graphics, a.k.a. Pore-Know Graphics, a.k.a. Poor No Graphics, a.k.a. Porneaugraphics, etc., and the whole operation was run out of their new two-story building at 18 Sycamore St. in the [[Mission District]]. The band named its studio El Ralpho, spoofing [[Sun Ra]] who had named his El Saturn.

Ralph's first release was December 1972's ''Santa Dog'' (RR-1272), a two-disc single that was mailed out free to about three hundred people—friends, radio stations, and even [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Frank Zappa]] were sent copies (though Zappa's was returned—he had moved). This was followed by the band's first album, ''[[Meet the Residents]]'' (RR-0274), which was recorded in 1973 and released in 1974. The band had trouble with distribution and made up 4,000 seven-minute [[flexi disc|flexi-disks]] based on the album with which to promote it. The flexi was included in the February 1974 issue of ''File'', a [[Canada|Canadian]] art magazine.

Over the years Ralph moved to other artists besides the Residents. The first was Schwump, a friend from Portland, Oregon, who in 1976 released a single called "Aphids in the Hall" (RRX-0776). The Residents' best friend and guitarist, [[Snakefinger]], released a single called "The Spot" (RR-7802) in 1978 and went on to release four albums.

Ralph's slogan ''Buy Or Die!'' was used as the title of its semiannual mail order catalogs, as well as its sampler 7-inch EPs.<ref>Buckley, P.: ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', [[Rough Guides]], November 2003.</ref> Four of the "Buy or Die!" EPs had cover art by [[Gary Panter]].

In 1976, the [[Cryptic Corporation]] took over control of Ralph Records and maintained it until 1985, when it handed it over to sales manager Tom Timony. The Residents left the label in 1987, after which Timony ran it under license and folded it into his label, TEC Tones, until reverting control to Ralph in 1992. Ralph Records has not really operated since [[1987 in music|1987]]. Since 1992, it has operated as EuroRalphAmerica, the Residents' mail-order company.

In August 2010 Ralph Records announced its closing "due to the general state of the music business and the expanding cost of creating physical products. It's been a great ride. Thanks for all your support over the past 11 years". Notices were sent on [[Twitter]] saying that it would sell out its stock of various limited Residents releases and have a sale on all the other items offered online.

==Artists who released records on Ralph==
* [[Art Bears]] (2 releases)
* Big City Orchestra (1)
* [[Eugene Chadbourne]] (1)
* [[Chrome (band)|Chrome]] (only 3 tracks on [[Subterranean Modern]] compilation)
* [[Club Foot Orchestra]] (2)
* Freshly Wrapped Candies (1)
* [[Fred Frith]] (4)
* Frank Harris and Maria Marquez (1)
* [[King Kurt]] (1)
* [[MX-80 (band)|MX-80 Sound]] (5)
* [[Nash the Slash]] (1)
* Michael Perilstein (1)
* [[Renaldo and the Loaf]] (4)
* [[The Residents]] (31)
* [[Rhythm & Noise]] (2)
* Schwump (1)
* [[Snakefinger]] (11)
* [[Bill Spooner]] (1)
* [[Suckdog]] (1)
* Hajime Tachibana (1)
* [[Tuxedomoon]] (7)
* [[Voice Farm]] (2)
* [[Yello]] (2)

== Notable Releases ==

* [[Santa Dog EP]] (1972)
* [[Meet the Residents|Meet The Residents]] (1974)
* [[The Residents]] – [[The Third Reich 'n Roll|The Third Reich N Roll]] (1976)
* [[The Residents]] – [[(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction#The Residents|Satisfaction]] 7-inch (1976)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Fingerprince]] (1977)
* [[The Beatles Play the Residents and the Residents Play the Beatles|The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles]] 7-inch (1977)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Duck Stab!|Duck Stab! EP]] (1978)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Not Available]] (1978)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Duck Stab/Buster & Glen]] (1978)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Santa Dog EP#Santa Dog '78|Santa Dog '78]] (1978)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Eskimo (album)|Eskimo]] (1979)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Babyfingers|Babyfingers EP]] (1979)
* [[Snakefinger]] – [[Chewing Hides the Sound|Chewing Hides The Sound]] (1979)
* [[Tuxedomoon]] – [[Half-Mute]] (1980)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Commercial Album]] (1980)
* [[Fred Frith]] – [[Gravity (Fred Frith album)|Gravity]] (1980)
* [[Snakefinger]] – [[Greener Postures]] (1980)
* [[MX-80 Sound]] – [[Out of the Tunnel]] (1980)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Diskomo|Diskomo/Goosebump]] EP (1980)
* [[Yello]] – [[Solid Pleasure]] (1980)
* [[Yello]] – [[Claro Que Si]] (1981)
* [[Tuxedomoon]] – [[Desire (Tuxedomoon album)|Desire]] (1981)
* [[Fred Frith]] – [[Speechless (Fred Frith album)|Speechless]] (1981)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Mark of the Mole]] (1981)
* [[The Residents]] – [[The Tunes of Two Cities]] (1982)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Intermission: Extraneous Music from the Residents' Mole Show|Intermission]] EP (1982)
* [[The Residents]] – [[The Mole Show Live at the Roxy|Mole Show]] (1983)
* [[Fred Frith]] – [[Cheap at Half the Price]] (1983)
* [[The Residents]] and [[Renaldo and the Loaf|Renaldo & The Loaf]] – [[Title in Limbo|Title In Limbo]] (1983)
* [[Residue of the Residents]] (1983)
* [[The Residents]] – [[George & James]] (1984)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Assorted Secrets]] (1984)
* [[Rhythm & Noise]] – [[Contents Under Notice]] (1984)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats?|Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?]] (1984)
* [[Rhythm & Noise]] – [[Chasms Accord]] (1985)
* [[The Residents]] – [[The Big Bubble]] (1985)
* [[The Residents]] & [[Snakefinger]] – [[The Eyeball Show (Live In Japan)|13th Anniversary Show – Live In Japan]] (1985)
* [[The Residents]] & [[Snakefinger]] – [[The 13th Anniversary Show Live in the U.S.A.]](1986)
* [[The Residents]] – [[Stars & Hank Forever: The American Composers Series|Stars & Hank Forever]] (1986)

==Compilations==
*[http://www.discogs.com/Various-Subterranean-Modern/release/242385 ''Subterranean Modern''], 1979
*[http://www.discogs.com/Various-Frank-Johnsons-Favorites/release/258873 ''Frank Johnson's Favorites''], 1981
*[http://www.discogs.com/Various-Best-Of-Ralph/release/339929 ''Best of Ralph''], 1982

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

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* Penn Jillette spends 6 days reviewing [http://weirdthings.com/2012/07/rare-audio-in-1982-penn-jillette-locked-himself-in-a-hotel-room-and-listened-to-records-for-a-week/]

{{The Residents}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Record labels established in 1972]]
[[Category:Record labels disestablished in 1987]]
[[Category:Experimental music record labels]]
[[Category:Alternative rock record labels]]
[[Category:American independent record labels]]
[[Category:Mission District, San Francisco]]
[[Category:Music of the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]
[[Category:The Residents]]