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Bobby Z. | |
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| Birth name | Robert B. Rivkin |
| Born | January 9, 1956 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, funk, rock, soul, new wave, Minneapolis sound |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, drummer, record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, percussion, piano |
| Labels | Copycats |
Robert B. Rivkin (born January 9, 1956), aka Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, best known as being the drummer for Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1978 to 1986.
Rivkin began his musical career at the age of six, playing several instruments before settling on the drums. In junior high school, he formed a small touring band in the Minneapolis area which included future Chicago Bears football coach Marc Trestman on rhythm guitar.
Rivkin met Prince in the late 1970s as Prince was forming his first band for touring. He started running errands for Prince while working for Owen Husney, who is credited with discovering Prince. Rivkin's stage name, Bobby Z., was derived from the nickname his grandmother used to call him, "Butzie".
Prince was adamant about having a white drummer in an effort to have a racially diverse band, so Husney implored Prince to audition Rivkin. Rivkin replaced Dale Alexander during the 94East band sessions, prior to Prince moving into his own "For You" album sessions. Alexander later became the drummer for Prince's protege group Madhouse in 1987. Rivkin was acknowledged in Prince's self-titled album as being a "heaven-sent" helper alongside Andre Cymone. By the time the 1999 album was released, Prince was relying more and more on electronic drums and Rivkin had to adapt his style to operate these in concert as well as the studio, starting with Controversy . He contributed to Purple Rain , Around the World in a Day , Parade and Sign o' the Times . When The Revolution disbanded in 1986 after the Parade Tour, Prince selected Sheila E, the daughter of veteran Bay Area drummer and percussionist Pete Escovedo, for his new band.
Bobby Z. produced The Suburbs' 1986 self-titled A&M Records album (credited as Robert Brent). In 1988 he produced tracks for Boy George's album, Tense Nervous Headache . Rivkin helped Wendy & Lisa on their debut album and he released his own self-titled album in 1989 (which included a re-recorded version of his song "River Run Dry", written for The Family. [1] Since then he has focused more on producing for the record label division of Copycats Media.
Bobby Z. suffered a heart attack in early 2010. After his recovery, he made it his mission to raise public awareness of heart attack warning signs and risk factors. He has lobbied Congress for continued research and he created a fundraising charity, "My Purple Heart," [2] which went about raising both funds and awareness of heart disease.
In 2011, he celebrated the one-year anniversary of surviving his near-fatal heart attack at First Avenue, with a rare reunion performance of The Revolution—Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Brown Mark, Dr. Fink, Dez Dickerson, plus Eric Leeds, which raised funds to benefit heart-health awareness. The concert, billed as a 'Benefit 2 Celebrate Life!' and co-presented by Z and the American Heart Association, was the first time The Revolution had played since 2003.
My Purple Heart partnered with the American Heart Association again in 2013 to host a benefit concert and weekend block party at First Avenue on the second anniversary of his heart attack. Again, members of The Revolution appeared, as well as guests Maya Rudolph, Twin Cities musician and a runner-up on The Voice Nicholas David, Alexander O'Neal, André Cymone, Dez Dickerson, Dr. Fink, Wendy Melvoin and Questlove.
In May 2013, Bobby Z joined Prince on stage during the closing two shows of Prince's whirlwind 3rdeyegirl tour. Both shows were the same night with Bobby taking over from Prince's drummer Hannah Welton-Ford for "Purple Rain".
Bobby Z hosted a weekly radio show on 96.3 K-TWIN in Minneapolis. [3]
Drum kit with Prince in the 1980s: [4] [5]
Bobby's brothers are Stephen E. Rivkin, a filmmaker, and David Z, a producer. He is married to his wife Vicki.
Jonathan David Melvoin was an American musician, active in the 1980s and 1990s.
André Cymone is an American bassist, songwriter and record producer. He was a bass guitarist for Prince's touring band, pre-Revolution. In 1981, Cymone broke from Prince's band and began a solo career. As a solo artist, he released Livin' in the New Wave, Survivin' in the '80s and A.C., all of which were well-received studio albums. The visionary fusion of new wave and funk explored on these albums spawned half a dozen hit R&B singles. His song, "The Dance Electric", was written by Prince and reached #10 on the R&B charts in 1985. Cymone later co-wrote and produced hit songs for other acts, including his then wife Jody Watley's "Looking for a New Love" and "Real Love".
The Family was a band formed by Prince, and one of the first on Prince's record label, Paisley Park Records. The band reformed as fDeluxe in 2011. This band should not be confused with a 1970s Minneapolis R&B band of the same name.
"I Would Die 4 U" is a song by Prince and the Revolution, the fourth single in the US from their 1984 album, Purple Rain. The up-tempo dance song was a top 10 hit—the final one from the album—in the US, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Purple Rain" is a song by the American musician Prince and his backing band the Revolution. It is the title track from the 1984 album Purple Rain, which in turn is the soundtrack album for the 1984 film Purple Rain starring Prince, and was released as the third single from the album. The song is a power ballad that combines rock, R&B, gospel, and orchestral music.
The Revolution is an American band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979 by Prince, serving as his live band and later as his studio band. The band's sound incorporated rock, pop, R&B, funk, new wave and psychedelic elements. Along with Prince's other projects, the Revolution helped create the Minneapolis sound. By the time of their 1986 breakup, the Revolution had backed Prince on two studio albums, two soundtracks and two videos.
Wendy & Lisa is a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band the Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasing their eponymous debut studio album in 1987. In recent years they have turned their attention to writing music for film and television and have won an Emmy Award.
Desmond D'andrea Dickerson is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's band, the Revolution.
Wendy Ann Melvoin is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band the Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa.
Lisa Coleman is an American musician and singer-songwriter, primarily on keyboards and piano. Coleman is known for her tenure as a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980 to 1986, as well as Wendy & Lisa, her musical partnership with fellow Revolution alum Wendy Melvoin.
David Rivkin, professionally known as David Z, is an American music producer, engineer, and songwriter from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is best known for his long-standing work with Prince and has contributed to albums by Etta James, Billy Idol, BoDeans, Buddy Guy, and Neneh Cherry.
The Family is the sole studio album by the band of the same name, released on August 19, 1985 by Prince's Paisley Park Records.
"Computer Blue" is a song by Prince and The Revolution. Released on June 25, 1984, it is the fourth track on Prince's sixth album, Purple Rain, which also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name. In the film, the song represents Prince's character's angst at the budding relationship between the characters played by Morris Day and Apollonia, the latter of whom he desires, and he performs it in front of the two during The Revolution's set at a nightclub with the aim of upsetting them. The song was composed by Prince with credit to his father, John L. Nelson, for the guitar solo based on a piano instrumental written by Nelson and Prince. He titled the instrumental piece "Father's Song" and recorded it on piano for the film, though onscreen it was portrayed as being played by Prince's character's father, played by Clarence Williams III. On the box-set Purple Rain Deluxe (2017), a different and longer recording of "Father's Song" was included.
Thomas Armon Pridgen is an American drummer, best known for his role as the drummer of The Mars Volta from 2006 until 2009. He is touring with rapper Residente and is the drummer for hardcore punk band Trash Talk, as well as his own project The Memorials. In 2023 he joined Fever 333.
"Baby I'm a Star" is a song written and recorded by American musician Prince from his album Purple Rain. It is also the B-side on the "Take Me with U" single.
The Controversy Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince in support of his fourth studio album Controversy. The tour included Zapp and Roger and The Time as an opening act.
The Purple Rain Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince and the Revolution following up on the success of his sixth studio album Purple Rain and his 1984 film Purple Rain. According to Spin, the tour sold over 1.7 million tickets.
The Parade Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince in support of Prince and The Revolution's eighth studio album Parade and his 1986 film Under the Cherry Moon. The Hit n Run Tour was not a full scale American tour, but a string of concerts that was dubbed "Hit n Run" by Prince's manager. Most of those shows were announced days or hours before the actual concert took place. The Parade Tour marked the first full tour of Europe by Prince. It also saw the expanded Revolution line-up and featured Sheila E. and her band as an opening act for most shows.
Jill Jones is the self-titled debut solo album from the artist of the same name. The album was released in 1987 on Paisley Park/Warner Bros. Records. It was produced by Jones and Prince.
Owen Robert Husney is an American music manager, musician, promoter, and record executive. Husney is known for his discovery and management of the artist Prince and Prince's 1977 signing to Warner Bros. Records—then one of the largest contracts for a new artist in history.
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