The Rainmakers (band)

The Rainmakers
Origin	Kansas City, Missouri
Genres	Rock
Years active	1986–1997, 2011
Labels	Polygram
Website	www.rainmakers.com
Past members
Bob Walkenhorst Steve Phillips Rich Ruth Pat Tomek Michael Bliss Jeff Porter

The Rainmakers are a Kansas City, Missouri-based original rock band, fronted by Bob Walkenhorst, which had a small string of hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the United States and Europe, especially Norway.

The Rainmakers were formed in 1983 as a three-piece bar band called 'Steve, Bob and Rich,' which "quickly became popular throughout the Midwest," according to one Amazon.com review.^[1] They released one album, Balls, under this name. The addition of drummer Pat Tomek allowed Walkenhorst to switch to guitar and assume the role of frontman. The band changed their name to The Rainmakers when they were signed to Polygram by A&R man Peter Lubin.

The band's self-titled 1986 debut album received positive reviews in the U.S. entertainment media including Newsweek magazine, which dubbed it "the most auspicious debut album of the year," and reached #87 on the U.S. Billboard album chart. The band made a fan of horror writer Stephen King, who quoted the band's lyrics in his novels The Tommyknockers and Gerald's Game.^[2] The album, however, achieved its greatest commercial success overseas. In the United Kingdom, the single "Let My People Go-Go" broke into the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart.^[2][3]

Their follow-up album, 1987's Tornado, peaked at #116 on the U.S. chart.^[4] The Rainmakers released one more studio album, 1989's The Good News and The Bad News, and one live album, 1990's Oslo-Wichita Live, which were successful in Europe.

However, Scandinavian interest in their music remained high, so they reformed and released a new album, Flirting with the Universe, in 1994. The album achieved the equivalent of gold record status in Norway in one month.^[2] One more album, Skin, followed in 1996 before the band broke up again.

In 2011, the band reunited. On March 5, the band was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame with a ceremony and concert at Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas. The following week, March 14, the band's album, 25 On, was released. At the end of March, the band returned to Norway for a two-week tour. The band played two shows in Kansas City, MO on May 14, 2011 and May 15, 2011 at Knuckleheads Saloon.^[5] The second show was scheduled after the first show sold out very quickly. For the new album and tour, Rich Ruth returned to the group, while Steve Phillips was replaced by Jeff Porter.

Members

• Bob Walkenhorst
• Steve Phillips. Later a member of The Elders.
• Rich Ruth, through 1995. Later a member of Webb Wilder. Returned to the group in 2011
• Pat Tomek
• Michael Bliss. Replaced Ruth in 1995.
• Jeff Porter. Replaced Steve Phillips in 2011

Discography

• Main Article: The Rainmakers discography

The Rainmakers released six studio albums and one live album.

References

1. ^ Amazon.com page on Bob Walkenhorst
2. ^ ^{a b c} Allmusic Guide biography of The Rainmakers
3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 449. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
4. ^ Allmusic Guide chart listings for The Rainmakers
5. ^ Finn, Timothy. "Rainmakers’ most successful album inspires a tour, and a new CD". The Kansas City Star. http://www.kansascity.com/2011/03/09/2708783/rainmakers-most-successful-album.html. Retrieved 12 March 2011. 

External links

• The Rainmakers official site
• The Rainmakers Official Message Board
• Village Records
• The Rainmakers collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• The Rainmakers Archives
• The Rainmakers Remasters Project site
• The Rainmakers Remasters Yahoo Group
• Bob Walkenhorst official site
• Pat Tomek's blog
• The Elders (Steve Phillips) official site