Label Guide: Ralph

Ralph Records was the record label of American avant-garde band The Residents, the name coming from the slang phrase for vomiting, calling Ralph on the porcelain telephone. Ralph was founded in 1972, shortly after The Residents had moved to San Francisco, when they realized that it was the only entity that would be willing to publish their work.

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 The Residents' building in the Mission District, San Francisco. The band named its studio El Ralpho, spoofing Sun Ra who had named his El Saturn.

The Residents ran the label by themselves until 1977 when the Cryptic Corporation took over control of Ralph Records and maintained it until 1985, when it handed it over to sales manager Tom Timony who ran the company as "New Ralph."

Over the years Ralph moved to other artists besides the Residents. The label released albums by Snakefinger, Fred Frith, Tuxedomoon, and other avant-garde artists. The Residents left the label in 1987, which marked the end of what used to be Ralph Records, although the name and company lived on in various incarnations (Ralph America, Euro Ralph, EuroRalphAmerica) until 2010.

Most of the Ralph albums, especially the early releases by The Residents, have been repressed several times over the years. Reprints can be identified by the different label design, amongst other things. There were many more (custom) Ralph label designs in the 1980s, than the ones shown here in this guide.