Bob Walkenhorst
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Bob Walkenhorst is a
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
-based singer, songwriter, musician, and painter. After growing up in his hometown of
Norborne, Missouri Norborne is a city in southwest Carroll County, Missouri, Carroll County, Missouri, United States. The population was 634 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Norborne was founded in 1868 by Norborne B. Coats, a civil engineer for the r ...
, he became a founding member of the popular
Midwestern U.S. The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
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 Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
, who included lyrics from the songs "Downstream" and "Drinkin' on the Job" in ''
The Tommyknockers ''The Tommyknockers'' is a 1987 science fiction novel by Stephen King. While maintaining a horror style, the novel is an excursion into the realm of science fiction for King, as the residents of the Maine town of Haven gradually fall under the i ...
''. 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

*
The Rainmakers' official site

Bob Walkenhorst collection
at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
'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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walkenhorst, Bob Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Missouri People from Norborne, Missouri