David Z, the Minneapolis musician and producer best-known for his work with Prince, has passed away. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that David Z, born David Rivkin, died in a Burbank, California hospital on Sunday. According to his younger brother Bobby Z, the former drummer from Prince's band the Revolution, David died of complications of an infection. He was 78.
David Rivkin grew up in Minneapolis, and he played guitar on '60s singles from local groups like the Chancellors and the High Spirits. In the early '70s, he spent time as a staff songwriter on A&M, where he worked with Gram Parsons, and played on records from people like Billy Preston. In 1976, he helped a teenage Prince record the demo that got him signed to Warner Bros. Later on, David did engineering work on a bunch of Prince records, and he played some instruments on the 1986 smash "Kiss" and helped arrange the track.
David Z also had a stint as a guitarist for Lipps Inc., the Minneapolis disco project that made the immortal 1980 hit "Funkytown." He also helped produce track for Prince-affiliated Minneapolis acts like Mazarati and the Family before producing huge late-'80s hits like Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy" and Jody Watley's "Looking For A New Love." He also worked on late-period records from greats like Buddy Guy and Etta James. Check out some of his work below.
