Bob Walkenhorst

Bob Walkenhorst is a Kansas City-based singer, songwriter, musician, and painter. After growing up in his hometown of Norborne, Missouri, he became a founding member of the popular Midwestern U.S. roots rock band The Rainmakers. In the Kansas City area, he currently gives weekly performances and participates in art gallery shows. For some shows, he is joined by his daughter Una.

As the singer/songwriter of his band, The Rainmakers, from 1986 to 1996, Walkenhorst's discography included five full-length studio albums, one live concert recording, and one "best-of" album. After the dissolution of the band, he released his first solo album, ''The Beginner'', in 2003. In 2009, Walkenhorst and fellow Kansas City musician Jeff Porter released an album entitled ''No Abandon'', under the moniker ''Walkenhorst and Porter''. The Rainmakers reformed in 2011 and have since released three more albums.

Throughout his career as a musician, Walkenhorst has maintained a reputation for producing clever and provocative lyrics, which have garnered him wide critical acclaim. In discussing the self-titled debut of The Rainmakers, ''Billboard'' called them "a band with a rarity: a genuinely witty songwriter." A 1987 review in the ''Washington Post'' cited the cleverness while also noting irreverent humor. On a very different note, a review from later that year in the ''Chicago Tribune'' observed, "Walkenhorst's lyrics are preoccupied with morality, although he avoids a moralizing tone." Over three decades later, in 2018, the ''Richmond'' (Missouri) ''News'' said, "His unique vocals and viewpoints have garnered him a dedicated following, through more than 30 years in the music scene."Seidel, Sara (2018
''Versatile Walkenhorst to open 9th concert season at Farris''

Perhaps the best-known fan of The Rainmakers and Walkenhorst was Stephen King, who included lyrics from the songs "Downstream" and "Drinkin' on the Job" in ''The Tommyknockers''. In '' Gerald's Game'', King excerpted "One More Summer"—citing Walkenhorst by name—and adopted Walkenhorst's character "The Lakeview Man" in service of the story.

References

External links

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The Rainmakers' official site

Bob Walkenhorst collection
at the Internet Archive's live music archive

Original ''Rolling Stone'' review
of The Rainmakers self-titled first album

The Beginner
Walkenhorst's solo album

MySpace page for Walkenhorst And Porter

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Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American male singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from Missouri
People from Norborne, Missouri