Bob Walkenhorst,
Steve Phillips (later a member of The Elders),
Jeff Porter,
Rich Ruth,
Pat Tomek,
Michael Bliss (replaced Rich Ruth in 1995).
Missouri has long boasted of being the home of two of America's greatest artists, Mark Twain and Chuck Berry. However, it wasn't until The Rainmakers thundered into the national music spotlight in 1986, had anyone combined the guitar power of Berry with the social wit of Twain into a unique brand of Missouri rock n' roll.
Originally formed in 1983 as a 3-piece bar band known as Steve, Bob, & Rich, these Kansas City rockers became an instant favorite throughout the Midwest. Soon, fans were standing in line to see this trio they described as "energetic," "intense," but most importantly "fun." Within months of finishing their first independent release, Steve, Bob, and Rich had signed a multi-album contract with Polygram Records, added a fourth member, and had changed their name to The Rainmakers.
Heralded as "America's Great Next Band" by Newsweek Magazine, The Rainmakers were soon drenched in critical acclaim. Feature articles in Rolling Stone, CMJ, USA Today and others poured in singing the praises of this hard working Midwest band who provided new life to a traditional rock format.
Critics particularly enjoyed the unique writing style of Bob Walkenhorst, whose talent for choosing unusual and sometimes controversial subjects provided an eye-opening perspective of life, sprinkled with sarcastic humor. The Rainmakers received notoriety for their songs' lyrical content, including Music Connection's award for Lyric Line of the Year: "The generation that would change the world is still looking for its car keys," and in the unlikely source of author Stephen King, who twice quoted lyrics from Rainmakers songs in his best seller The Tommyknockers, and again in his 1991 novel Gerald's Game.
But success did not stop at the U.S. borders, as European countries supported the band increasingly with each new release. The song "Let My People Go-Go" gave the Rainmakers their first Top-20 single on the British charts in early 1987. Critics abroad sang the band's praises, with feature articles in New Musical Express, Kerrang!, Rock Power, etc. Frequently, The Rainmakers could be spotted on European television with live appearances on Top Of The Pops, and The Tube, and video play on MTV Europe.
European concert dates grew in number each year, with The Rainmakers often enjoying headline status on festival bills. Their reputation as an electrifying concert act eventually led to the recording of a live album at a sold-out show in Oslo, Norway for release solely in Scandinavian markets.
In 1990, after four albums, five videos, 500,000+ records sold, and concert dates too numerous to count, The Rainmakers put band business on hold to allow time for their personal lives and agendas. In 1994, the band returned to the studio to record a new album, entitled Flirting With The Universe - an album which achieved GOLD certification in Norway within 2 months of release.
Overwhelmed by the response to Flirting..., The Rainmakers reemerged from the studio in 1996 with Skin. With this effort, Bob Walkenhorst has again proved that no subject matter is too controversial by taking aim at pornography and its societal impact, via his unique perspectives - a Rainmakers trademark. A release, which in true Rainmaker form, is designed to provoke.
In 2011, the Rainmakers reformed and released another album, 25 ON, with bassist Rich Ruth returning to the group in place of Bliss, while long-time guitarist Steve Phillips was replaced by Jeff Porter. On March 5, the band was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame with a ceremony and concert at Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas.
The Rainmakers are: Bob Walkenhorst (Vocals, Guitar); Jeff Porter (Lead Guitar, Vocals); Rich Ruth (Bass, Vocals); Pat Tomek (Drums)
Website
Fool's Gold
The Rainmakers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aw, he's harmless enough
There's almost nothing
You could've said
That would have hurt me so much
But how to risk all you got
Oh, i forget, you forgot
Or you'd see that
I'm most certainly not
It's all fool's gold, my dear
It's all fool's gold, my dear
It's hardly ever like you think
It's almost always like you fear
It's all fool's gold, it's all fool's gold
When we were young
We went dancing
To a band at the Rink
They were so far out
Of tune and time
And they didn't even blink
They were the best in the world
As far as we were concerned
I heard them two years on
It was amazing
What they'd learned
Twice as cool, twice as fast
Twice as loud, twice as long
They were at least twice as good
And about half as much fun
It's all fool's gold, my dear
It's all fool's gold, my dear
It's not so much what you know
As what you believe to be so
It's all fool's gold, it's all fool's gold
I was in traffic by a man
Reading a book while he drives
He couldn't
Stay between the lanes
He couldn't
Read between the lines
So I ran him off the road
The first chance that I got
See, harmless is one thing
A little knowledge is not
It's all fool's gold, my dear
It's all fool's gold, my dear
Oh, sometimes the facts
Can make the truth disappear
It's all fool's gold, it's all fool's gold
I think God honored my oath
And He one day struck me blind
Because I can't see the forest
For the matchsticks sometimes
Oh, if ignorance is bliss
I'm the happiest man alive
I do so want to believe
I'm so damn dumb sometimes
I imagine politics and love
Where neither exist
Mistake the handshake
Of friendship
For the hate-shaking fist
It's like the Lost Dutchman mine
It's a fictional claim
But we've no other choice
Than to keep mining that vein
It's all fool's gold, my dear
It's all fool's gold, my dear
It's hardly ever what you think
It's almost always like you fear
It's all fool's gold, it's all fool's gold
Lyrics by Bob Walkenhorst
© 1994 Bob Walkenhorst Music BMI
In the song Fool's Gold by The Rainmakers, the lyrics explore the concept of how things often turn out vastly different from what we initially expect or believe in. The first verse reflects on how the singer overhears someone describing him as harmless and how the statement takes him by surprise. He questions whether the person truly knows him and that being harmless is not what defines him. The chorus, "It's all fool's gold, my dear," repeats throughout the song and serves as a reminder that things are not always what they appear to be.
The second verse is about nostalgia for the past, specifically a time when the singer and a friend went dancing to a poorly performing band. However, when he hears the same band two years later, they've drastically improved and lost their soul. This verse echoes the chorus by saying it's not always what you believe to be true. The final verse talks about how sometimes people's beliefs blind them to reality, and it's better to be ignorant and happy than knowledgeable and miserable. The comparison of politics and love to fool's gold suggests that they may not be worth the effort and may only bring disappointment.
Line by Line Meaning
I heard you telling your friends
I overheard you talking about me
Aw, he's harmless enough
You were saying that I am not a threat
There's almost nothing
There's almost nothing you could say
You could've said
You could've said something that would hurt me
That would have hurt me so much
What you said did hurt me
But how to risk all you got
How to take a chance on something important
Oh, i forget, you forgot
Oh, I forgot, you forgot
Or you'd see that
Or you would understand that
Harmless is one thing
Being harmless is not the same as being good
I'm most certainly not
I am not just harmless
It's all fool's gold, my dear
What we believe is often not true
It's hardly ever like you think
Things are hardly ever as we expect them to be
It's almost always like you fear
Usually things turn out worse than we imagine
When we were young
Back when we were younger
We went dancing
We used to go dancing
To a band at the Rink
We used to listen to a band at the skating rink
They were so far out
The band was so unconventional
Of tune and time
The band was not well-rehearsed
And they didn't even blink
The band did not seem to care
They were the best in the world
We thought they were great
As far as we were concerned
That was our opinion
I heard them two years on
I heard the band again two years later
It was amazing
It was incredible
What they'd learned
How much they had improved
Twice as cool, twice as fast
They were twice as impressive
Twice as loud, twice as long
They played twice as long and twice as loud
They were at least twice as good
They were definitely better than before
And about half as much fun
But they weren't as fun as we remembered them to be
It's not so much what you know
What you know is not as important as what you believe
As what you believe to be so
What you believe to be true
I was in traffic by a man
I was driving next to a man in traffic
Reading a book while he drives
He was reading a book while driving
He couldn't
He was unable to
Stay between the lanes
Maintain his position in the lanes
He couldn't
He was unable to
Read between the lines
Understand something that wasn't explicitly stated
So I ran him off the road
I forced him off the road
The first chance that I got
As soon as the opportunity arose
I think God honored my oath
I believe God recognized my promise
And He one day struck me blind
As a result, He blinded me
Because I can't see the forest
Because I cannot see the big picture
For the matchsticks sometimes
I get caught up in the details
Oh, if ignorance is bliss
If not knowing is happiness
I'm the happiest man alive
Then I must be the happiest person
I do so want to believe
I really want to believe
I'm so damn dumb sometimes
That I can be very naive
I imagine politics and love
I idealize politics and romance
Where neither exist
Where there is no true affection or morality
Mistake the handshake
Mistake a friendly greeting
Of friendship
As a sign of animosity
For the hate-shaking fist
As a sign of aggression
It's like the Lost Dutchman mine
The situation is like the myth of the Lost Dutchman mine
It's a fictional claim
It's not real
But we've no other choice
But we continue searching anyway
Than to keep mining that vein
Than to keep looking for something that may not exist
Contributed by Hudson C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.