Ralph Records
Ralph Records was The Residents' original record label, the name coming from the somewhat colorful phrase "calling Ralph on the porcelain telephone."
Ralph was founded in 1972, shortly after the group had moved to San Francisco, when the band realized that they were the only people who would be 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, aka Pore-Know Graphics, aka Poor No Graphics, aka Porneaugraphics, etc., and the whole operation was run out of their new two-story building at 18 Sycamore St. in the Mission District. They named their 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-disk single which was mailed out for free to about three hundred people — friends, radio stations, 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), recorded in 1973 and released in 1974. They had trouble with distribution and made up 4000 seven-minute flexi-disks based on the album with which to promote it. The flexy was included in the February 1974, issue of File, a 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 1975 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 more albums.
Artists who released records on Ralph
- Art Bears (2 releases)
- Eugene Chadbourne (1)
- Chrome (1)
- Club Foot Orchestra (2)
- Freshly Wrapped Candies (1)
- Fred Frith (4)
- Frank Harris and Maria Marquez (1)
- Jinxtengu (3)
- King Kurt (1)
- 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 (4)
Ralph became famous for its slogan, "Buy Or Die!" which was used as the title of its semiannual mail order catalogs.
In 1976, the Cryptic Corporation took over control of Ralph Records and maintained it until 1985, when they 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 own label, TEC Tones, until reverting control to Ralph in 1992. Ralph Records has not really been a label since 1987. Since 1992 it has operated as EuroRalphAmerica, the Residents' mail-order company.