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.

Biography

The Rainmakers were formed in 1983 as a three-piece bar band called Steve, Bob and Rich. 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 good reviews in the U.S. entertainment media (Newsweek magazine dubbed it "the most auspicious debut album of the year") and reached No. 87 on the U.S. Billboard album chart. The band made a fan of horror author Stephen King, who quoted the band's lyrics in his novels The Tommyknockers and Gerald's Game.

Their follow-up album, 1987's Tornado, peaked at #116 on the U.S. chart. 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, but did not chart in the U.S.. The band broke up after the release of the live album, which was only issued in Europe.

Scandinavian interest in their music remained high, and 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. The following week, the band's album 25 on was released on March 14. At the end of March, the band returned to Norway for a two-week tour. The band played two shows (May 14–15) at Knuckleheads Saloon in Kansas City.

In 2014, the Rainmakers released the album Monster Movie. In June the same year, they performed at the Sweden Rock Festival.

In 2015 they released the album Cover Band.

Steve Phillips died in 2020 after contracting COVID-19.

Band members

  • Bob Walkenhorst: guitar, vocals (1983–1990, 1994–1998, 2011–present)
  • Jeff Porter: guitar, vocals (2011–present)
  • Rich Ruth: bass, vocals (1983–1990, 1994–1995, 2011–present)
  • Pat Tomek: drums (1986–1990, 1994–1998, 2011–present)

Former members

  • Steve Phillips: guitar, vocals (1983–1990, 1994–1998)
  • Michael Bliss: bass, vocals (1995–1998)

Timeline

<div>

</div>

Discography

The Rainmakers have released eight studio albums, two live albums and a compilation album.

References

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