David Z, Producer Behind 'Funkytown' and Prince's Early Albums, Dies at 78

David Rivkin, known as David Z, died on August 2, 2026, at a hospital in Burbank, California, from infection complications. He was 78. The Minneapolis Star Tribune first reported the death. A Grammy-winning producer and engineer, he shaped Prince's earliest recordings, Lipps Inc.'s 1980 No. 1 'Funkytown', and Fine Young Cannibals' 1989 chart-topper 'She Drives Me Crazy'.