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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), better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, best known as being the original drummer for Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1978 to 1986.
Rivkin began his musical career at the age of six, playing several different instruments before finally 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.
He met Prince in the late 1970s as Prince was forming his first band for touring. He started running errands for Prince while working for the man credited with discovering Prince, Owen Husney. Rivkin's stage name, Bobby Z., was derived from the nickname "Butzie" his grandmother used to call him.
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. Dale 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 . In 1986 when Wendy & Lisa left The Revolution and the group disbanded after the Parade Tour ended, Prince also took the opportunity to replace Rivkin with Sheila E, the daughter of veteran Bay Area drummer and percussionist Pete Escovedo.
Bobby Z. produced The Suburbs' 1986 self-titled A&M Records album (credited as Robert Brent). In 1988 he produced some 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 "River Run Dry" that he wrote for The Family). [1] Since then he has focused more on producing for the recently launched record label branch of Copycats media.
Bobby Z. had a heart attack in early 2010 and after his recovery made it his mission to continue to raise public awareness of heart attack warning signs and risk factors. He has lobbied Congress for continued research. He set up a fund raising charity called 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, Eric Leeds and Bobby Z., which raised funds to benefit heart-health awareness,.
The concert, billed as a 'Benefit 2 Celebrate Life!' and presented by Z and the American Heart Association, featured The Revolution, along with heart-health and life-saving information and inspiring stories of survival. The Revolution had not played together since 2003.
His foundation, My Purple Heart, partnered with the American Heart Association again in 2013 to host a benefit concert and weekend block party on March 9, at First Avenue on the 2nd anniversary of his heart attack. Again members of The Revolution appeared alongside Bobby as well as star guests such as Maya Rudolph, Nicholas David, a local musician and the runner-up from The Voice; Alexander O'Neal, André Cymone, Dez Dickerson, Dr. Fink, and Questlove, the drummer from The Roots. Wendy Melvoin appeared as the resident guitarist for the night's events.
In May 2013, Bobby Z joined Prince on stage during the closing two shows of Prince's whirlwind 3rdeyegirl tour. The shows happened on the same night with Bobby taking over from Prince's drummer Hannah Welton-Ford. He sat in on both shows for one song. On both occasions it was "Purple Rain". In late May 2013, Bobby appeared alongside former bandmate André Cymone on a web based chat show which was co-hosted by celebrity blogger Dr.Funkenberry. [3] They both reminisced about their early days on the road with Prince on the show. Bobby Z mentioned that it was a thrill to be back onstage with Prince.
Bobby Z hosted a radio show every Sunday on 96.3 K-TWIN in Minneapolis. [4]
Drum kit with Prince in the 1980s: [5] [6]
Bobby's brothers are Stephen E. Rivkin, a filmmaker, and David Z, a producer. He is married to his wife Vicki.
Purple Rain is a 1984 American romantic rock musical drama film scored by and starring Prince in his acting debut. Developed to showcase his talents, it contains several concert sequences, featuring Prince and his band The Revolution. The film is directed by Albert Magnoli, who later became Prince's manager, from a screenplay by Magnoli and William Blinn. The cast also features Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos and Clarence Williams III.
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".
"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 of the same name, which in turn is the soundtrack album for the 1984 film of the same name 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.
Wendy and Lisa is the 1987 debut album by American pop duo Wendy & Lisa, formerly of Prince's band, the Revolution.
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; Jill Jones. 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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