The Rainmakers (KC band)
| The Rainmakers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Genres | Rock |
| Years active | 1983–1990, 1994–1998, 2011– |
| Labels | Polygram |
| Website | www.rainmakers.com |
| Members |
Bob Walkenhorst Rich Ruth Pat Tomek Jeff Porter |
| Past members | Steve Phillips Michael Bliss |
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. 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. The album, however, achieved its greatest commercial success overseas. In the United Kingdom, the single "Let My People Go–Go", (a song based on the American Negro spiritual anthem "Go Down Moses"), broke into the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart.
...
Wikipedia