DCV Top Bands of the 80's: #4

4. The Rainmakers

Look out now! Here it comes!

One of the most underappreciated bands of all time, IMO. They had a pretty devoted following in Missouri in the mid-to-late 80s. Dr. Ron McCann, one of the best roommates a guy could have, put Dolberry on to the Rainmakers during the SLU days. Their eponymous debut album, The Rainmakers, ended up being their biggest, peaking at #85 on the U.S. album charts. It featured several Missouri-specific references: "Downstream" (which was about floating down the Mississippi w/ Mark Twain, Harry Truman, and Chuck Berry) and the searing "Rockin at the T-Dance" which lambasted the American engineering disasters of Apollo 1, Apollo 13 and the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt which killed 114 people during an afternoon tea dance in 1981.

"You can still see the ghosts, but you can't see the sense.
Why'd they let the monkey go and blame the monkey wrench?"

This 1986 album spot-on identified many of the elements of what was wrong, maybe what is wrong w/ America: too lazy (Government Cheese), drinks too much (Drinkin' on the Job), too gossipy (Information), too lustful (Big Fat Blonde), and just generally too aimless (Long Gone Long, a true classic). Strangely enough, the Rainmakers had a Top 20 hit in England w/ "Let My People Go-Go" off this album.

They followed that album up w/ the equally excellent Tornado (1987) and The Good News and the The Bad News (1989). Stephen won a contest (or did I?) where we got to see them play a live studio show for WXRT w/ like 40 other people. I remember that was extremely cool but being slightly disappointed that frontman Bob Walkenhorst seemed way more interested in talking to the womenfolk in the crowd than dweeby (well, Stephen anyway) 20-something guys who had wished to thoroughly dissect every song they'd ever written. In retrospect, I can respect his decision. We saw them in concert at the Park West one time which was also cool.

The Rainmakers were always very popular in Norway for whatever reason. I wish they'd have come along at a time (like today) in which music is so widely available and when quality music will find a large audience via the internet. They would have been huge.

Anyway, my favorite memory of the Rainmakers occured on probably the best day of my life (top 2, definitely). The day I married the lovely KMD. We'd had a beautiful ceremony and had retired to the Galt House for our reception. The first three hours were mostly talking w/ people and taking care of all the obligations of a reception, but the last hour or so was a true blast, capped by Dolberry's mesmerizing dance to the Rainmakers "Tornado of Love" (slipped the cassette to the DJ at some point that night). If you weren't there, words can not describe the transcendentally athletic beauty of that dance. Well actually they can ... Dolberry mostly spun around like a tornado and tried to knock people down. I plan on reprising it on our 50th anniversary, so watch out.

Best Songs: Rockin at the T-Dance, Long Gone Long, Tornado of Love, One More Summer, Reckoning Day, The Other Side of the World, Too Many Twenties, Another Guitar.

Worst Songs: Wild Oats

The wind took, the ground shook, & me and my baby traded one last look.
The heavens squalled ... push come to shove.
Ain't no escaping the tornado of love.