History Creator / RhinoRecords

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rhino_original.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:The original Rhino logo (artwork by William Stout).]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rhino_current_7.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:The current logo.]]

* Music/{{Love}}

'''Phase three''': While Foos and Bronson enjoyed the novelties and obscurities, they didn't sell many records, and by 1981 it became obvious they needed another strategy for the label. Having grown up as fans of rock from TheSixties, the next logical move was to reissue that music, which the major labels had long-neglected in favor of newer material. Working out licensing deals with other labels, Rhino put together reissues of original albums and well-chosen [[GreatestHitsAlbum Greatest Hits Albums]] with informative liner notes. One band that received a lot of attention was Music/TheTurtles, since bandleaders Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman owned the rights to their recordings, and Bronson was from the same hometown as them (and went to school with Kaylan's younger brother). An unexpected success for Rhino was ''The Best of Louie Louie'', an album featuring multiple renditions of the GarageRock anthem, followed by ''The Best of [[Music/RitchieValens La Bamba]]''. They also continued the retro theme by releasing the old-fashioned covers of modern songs recorded by Music/BigDaddy. Having been fans of Franchise/TheMonkees, they got the licensing to release rarities albums, followed by reissues of their long out-of-print original albums. This turned into an unexpected gold mine in 1986, when an Creator/{{MTV}}-fueled 20th anniversary Monkee revival shot the reissues into the ''Billboard'' chart.[[note]]1970's ''Changes'', the final original album, with the band reduced to a Davy Jones-Micky Dolenz duo, didn't even make the charts in its original release but got into the ''Billboard'' Top 200 in its 1986 reissue.[[/note]] More Monkee material followed (including the reunion album ''Pool It!'', released to disappointing sales in 1987, but also Rhino's best-selling non-reissue album), then in 1994 Rhino bought the full rights to the Monkees franchise. Also in 1986, Rhino got an unexpected #1 hit single, when their reissue of Billy Vera's "At This Moment" became hugely popular from RevivalByCommercialization on ''Series/FamilyTies''. They still kept the novelty tradition going, though, with albums like the ''Golden Throats'' series, devoted to questionable celebrity music endeavors, which singlehandedly shone new light on the failed attempts by Creator/WilliamShatner and Creator/LeonardNimoy to become singing (or, in Shatner's case, recitation) sensations during the original ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' run. Rhino's stock as a reissue label was so great that other labels would seek Rhino staffers out for compilations and reiusses of classic acts, making these Rhino releases in all but name.

--->-'''Music/WildManFischer''', "Go to Rhino Records" (1975, the first song released on Rhino)

'''Phase one''': Rhino Records began as a record ''store'' in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. Self-professed music nerd Richard Foos ran the record department of an electronics store in Santa Monica, earning a reputation for an eclectic selection and affordable prices. Sensing that this approach could do well with college students, who also could use the money from selling their unwanted records, Foos decided to spin his operation off into a retail store featuring new & used records, located near the campus of UCLA, in 1973. Shortly after it opened, Foos invited one of his loyal Santa Monica customers, aspiring music journalist Harold Bronson, to become his business partner. While never as glamorous or famous as chain stores like Tower Records or The Wherehouse, Rhino attracted a following among music aficionados, as well as attention for colorful gimmicks like paying customers to take home unpopular records. Customers and ex-employees have frequently likened Rhino to Championship Vinyl in ''Literature/HighFidelity''. The Rhino store bounced between several locations in L.A. and Santa Monica, and also opened a successful branch store in the nearby college town of Claremont. The main store lasted until 2005, but the Claremont store is still open today.

* Music/TheRamones

'''Phase two''': A constant presence at the store in its early years was cult legend Music/WildManFischer. After he concocted a catchy jingle called "Go to Rhino Records", the store decided to start a Rhino Records label just to release it. A copy found its way to Creator/JohnPeel, who played it many times on his radio show. In response, Rhino pressed up extra copies for import, and the possibilities for future expansion of the label started to appear. Bronson and Foos were both musicians on the side, and shared a twisted sense of humor and a fondness for novelty songs. Having an in-house label gave them a vehicle to record and release their own crazy material, which they seized with glee. In TheSeventies and the first part of the TheEighties, Bronson and Foos masterminded fictional bands like the Temple City Kazoo Orchestra (who performed all-kazoo renditions of songs by Music/LedZeppelin and Music/TheRollingStones), the AlterKocker rock band Gefilte Joe & The Fish, the Bakersfield Boogie Boys (a Music/{{Devo}}-style cover band, most infamously doing an ultra-ironic rendition of Music/MerleHaggard's "Okie from Muskogee") and The Qworymen (soundalikes of Music/TheBeatles who recorded "Beatle Rap" in the vein of Music/TheSugarhillGang). Wild Man Fischer was also an early mainstay, releasing several albums. Comedy notables ranging from Creator/RodneyDangerfield to Creator/TheFiresignTheatre released albums on Rhino, leading it to be somewhat typecast as a comedy label. On the other side of the spectrum, Rhino compiled several albums featuring songs by unsigned Southern California bands, giving the fledgling L.A. NewWaveMusic and HeavyMetal scenes some exposure. Music/OingoBoingo and Music/QuietRiot both made early appearances on these albums. Many of the novelty records became favorites on the Creator/DrDemento radio show, and Demento would release dozens of compilations on Rhino over the years.

!! Rhino Records information on Wiki/TvTropes:

!! Rhino Home Video information on Wiki/TvTropes

'''Phase three''': While Foos and Bronson enjoyed the novelties and obscurities, they didn't sell many records, and by 1981 it became obvious they needed another strategy for the label. Having grown up as fans of rock from TheSixties, the next logical move was to reissue that music, which the major labels had long-neglected in favor of newer material. Working out licensing deals with other labels, Rhino put together reissues of original albums and well-chosen [[GreatestHitsAlbum Greatest Hits Albums]] with informative liner notes. One band that received a lot of attention was Music/TheTurtles, since bandleaders Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman owned the rights to their recordings, and Bronson was from the same hometown as them (and went to school with Kaylan's younger brother). An unexpected success for Rhino was ''The Best of Louie Louie'', an album featuring multiple renditions of the GarageRock anthem, followed by ''The Best of [[Music/RitchieValens La Bamba]]''. They also continued the retro theme by releasing the old-fashioned covers of modern songs recorded by Music/BigDaddy. Having been fans of Franchise/TheMonkees, they got the licensing to release rarities albums, followed by reissues of their long out-of-print original albums. This turned into an unexpected gold mine in 1986, when an Creator/{{MTV}}-fueled 20th anniversary Monkee revival shot the reissues into the ''Billboard'' chart.[[note]]1970's ''Changes'', the final original album, with the band reduced to a Davy Jones-Micky Dolenz duo, didn't even make the charts in its original release but got into the ''Billboard'' Top 200 in its 1986 reissue.[[/note]] More Monkee material followed (including the reunion album ''Pool It!'', released to disappointing sales in 1987, but also Rhino's best-selling non-reissue album), then in 1994 Rhino bought the full rights to the Monkees franchise. Also in 1986, Rhino got an unexpected #1 hit single, when their reissue of Billy Vera's "At This Moment" became hugely popular from RevivalByCommercialization on ''Series/FamilyTies''. They still kept the novelty tradition going, though, with albums like the ''Golden Throats'' series, devoted to questionable celebrity music endeavors, which singlehandedly shone new light on the failed attempts by Creator/WilliamShatner and Creator/LeonardNimoy to become singing (or, in Shatner's case, recitation) sensations during the original ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' run.

* Music/{{Foreigner}}

* Music/{{Scorpions}}