David Z, Grammy-Winning Producer Who Helped Craft Prince’s Early Music, Dead at 78
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- David Z Rivkin died Sunday at a hospital in Burbank, California, at age 78 from complications of an infection, according to his brother Bobby Z, Prince and the Revolution's drummer, who confirmed the death to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
- Owen Husney, Prince's first manager, introduced the then-18-year-old singer to Rivkin at Sound 80 studios in 1976; Prince picked Rivkin on the spot after hearing him hum a horn line over the demo, telling Husney "David is the only one I want working with me."
- The demo Rivkin co-produced helped Prince land his Warner Bros. contract, launching the career of one of pop's biggest stars and anchoring the rise of the Minneapolis Sound.
- Rivkin won two Grammys for producing Etta James and earned a record-of-the-year nomination for producing Fine Young Cannibals' 1989 hit "She Drives Me Crazy."
- Rivkin also contributed to Lipps Inc.'s 1980 disco smash "Funkytown," one of the most recognizable songs of the era.
- In a mid-Eighties interview, Rivkin called the Minneapolis Sound "the sound of ignorance," crediting its isolation from L.A. and New York for everything from the songwriting to the cheap microphones that shaped its distinct character.
Why it matters: The death removes one of the last living architects of the Minneapolis Sound, the funk-pop movement that launched Prince and shaped decades of R&B and pop. Rivkin's self-described role as a 'secret ingredient' — producing the Prince demo, 'Funkytown,' and Grammy-winning Etta James records — shows his influence spanned far beyond Prince alone.
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