David Z

David Bruce Rivkin, professionally known as David Z, was born on March 25, 1948, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An American record producer, engineer, and songwriter, he was widely described as an architect of the Minneapolis Sound. He helped Prince secure a Warner Bros. deal with early demos, shaped Lipps Inc.'s worldwide smash Funkytown, arranged and engineered Prince's Kiss, recorded key live tracks for Purple Rain, and produced Fine Young Cannibals' She Drives Me Crazy, whose clipped snare became one of late-1980s pop's most recognizable sounds.

He was the eldest of three Rivkin brothers who all worked in entertainment: middle brother Stephen E. Rivkin became a major film editor (Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar); youngest brother Bobby Z. was the original drummer in Prince and the Revolution. David grew up in the Twin Cities (St. Louis Park in The Current's account), started as a folk fingerpicker, then a hotshot lead guitarist in local bands. Variety notes guitar credits on regional hits by the Chancellors (Little Latin Lupe Lu) and the High Spirits (Turn on Your Lovelight). He worked A&M promo in Minneapolis, then spent about four years in Los Angeles as an A&M staff songwriter, co-writing How Much I've Lied with Gram Parsons for Parsons' 1973 solo album GP, and playing guitar on sessions including Billy Preston and the Rev. James Cleveland.

Returning to Minneapolis around 1974, he learned engineering, cut demos at ASI Studios, mixed KQRS live broadcasts, and was hired by Sound 80 as it chased rock work. In 1976 Owen Husney brought an 18-year-old Prince to Sound 80. Husney later told Jon Bream that as Rivkin hummed a horn line over Prince's cassette, Prince demanded they leave, then explained in the car: David is the only one I want working with me. Those demos led to Prince's Warner Bros. signing. Rivkin accompanied early Warner sessions and later flew to the Record Plant in Sausalito to capture vocals. On August 3, 1983, he recorded Prince's First Avenue show whose live performances underpinned Purple Rain, I Would Die 4 U, and Baby I'm a Star (Prince later overdubbed bass; Rivkin joked to The Current that for the film he cheated and put a crowd from the Minnesota Vikings in the audience track).

With Steve Greenberg and vocalist Cynthia Johnson he helped craft Lipps Inc.'s Funkytown, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 on May 31, 1980 (UK No. 2), the first Minnesota-recorded No. 1. Prince later tasked him with producing Mazarati; Rivkin's LinnDrum experiments on an acoustic Prince demo became the rhythmic bed of Kiss, which Prince reclaimed as a No. 1. Rivkin worked Paisley Park Studio 2 for about eight years, co-producing and arranging The Family, hits for the Jets (Crush on You, You Got It All), Jody Watley (Looking for a New Love), Sheila E., and more. In 1988-89 he co-produced Fine Young Cannibals' She Drives Me Crazy (Hot 100 No. 1, 1989; Grammy-nominated for Record of the Year, 1990), creating its signature snare. He continued with Prince into Diamonds and Pearls (1991) and later remixed archival Prince releases.

After the Minneapolis boom cooled he produced the BoDeans' Black and White (1991) and Big Head Todd and the Monsters' Sister Sweetly (1993), then pivoted into blues via House of Blues connections, working with Etta James, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Al Green, Angelique Kidjo, Elvis Costello, Neneh Cherry, Billy Idol, and others. Star Tribune, Variety, and Rolling Stone report two Grammys for producing Etta James; Billboard and The Current specifically document a Grammy for Blues to the Bone (Best Traditional Blues Album, 2005). Soundtrack credits include Purple Rain, Under the Cherry Moon, Nora Ephron's Michael (1996; songs by Al Green and Kenny Wayne Shepherd), and Disney's A Goofy Movie (Tevin Campbell's Stand Out and I 2 I).

In mid-1980s interviews he called the Minneapolis Sound the sound of ignorance: made in isolation, with cheap mics and engineering that did not copy L.A. or New York. Bobby Z remembered him as a master of gizmos, linking instruments and using the board in unorthodox ways: a true rebel. He moved back to Los Angeles in 2011, worked into about 2025, then retired. He died of complications of an infection at a Burbank hospital on August 2, 2026, aged 78, confirmed by Bobby Z to the Star Tribune. Survivors include brothers Bobby and Stephen and children Charley, Amy, Josh, and Shelby, plus two grandchildren. Owen Husney called him the secret ingredient on many, many musical projects who rarely talked about his own significance.