The Rainmakers (Kansas City, Missouri band)

Infobox musical artist |
Name = The Rainmakers


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Origin = Kansas City, Missouri
Genre = Rock
Years_active = 1986-1997
Label = Polygram
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URL = [http://www.rainmakers.com www.rainmakers.com]
Current_members = Bob Walkenhorst Steve Phillips Rich Ruth Pat Tomek Michael Bliss
Past_members =

The Rainmakers were 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. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DBK01 Amazon.com page on Bob Walkenhorst] ] 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.

The band's self-titled 1986 debut album received positive reviews in the U.S. entertainment media, and reached #87 on the U.S. Billboard album charts. 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". The album, however, achieved its greatest commercial success overseas. In Britain, the single "Let My People Go-Go" broke the British Top 20. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:e96xlfje5cqw~T1 Allmusic Guide biography] of The Rainmakers]

Their followup album, 1987's "Tornado", peaked at #116 on the U.S. charts. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3bkzu3y5andk~T5 Allmusic Guide chart listings] for The Rainmakers] 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, then broke up in 1990.

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. One more album, "Skin," followed in 1996 before the band broke up for good.

Members

* Bob Walkenhorst
* Steve Phillips. Later a member of The Elders.
* Rich Ruth, through 1995. Later a member of Webb Wilder.
* Pat Tomek
* Michael Bliss. Replaced Ruth in 1995.

Discography

*"Main Article: The Rainmakers discography"The Rainmakers released six studio albums and one live album.

Audio sample

References

External links

* [http://www.rainmakers.com/index2.html The Rainmakers official site]
* [http://p199.ezboard.com/btherainmakersmessageboard The Rainmakers Official Message Board]
* [http://www.villagerecords.com/product.tpl?cart=115164692014592403&--eqskudatarq=N860600 Village Records]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/TheRainmakers The Rainmakers collection] at the Internet Archive's live music archive
* [http://www.mjochim.com/rainmakers/rmhome.html The Rainmakers Archives]
* [http://www.mjochim.com/rainmakers/remasters/intro.html The Rainmakers Remasters Project site]
* [http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/RainmakersRemasters/ The Rainmakers Remasters Yahoo Group]
* [http://www.bobwalkenhorst.com/ Bob Walkenhorst official site]
* [http://www.largelypro.com/mtblog/ Pat Tomek's blog]
* [http://www.eldersmusic.com/ The Elders (Steve Phillips) official site]