Matthew Robert Fink (born February 8, 1958), better known as Dr. Fink, is a keyboardist, producer, and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

best-known for playing keyboards in

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's band, The Revolution. At Prince concerts, he was distinguished onstage for performing dressed in a

surgical mask A surgical mask, also known by other names such as a medical face mask or procedure mask, is a personal protective equipment used by healthcare professionals that serves as a mechanical barrier that interferes with direct airflow in and out of r ...

and

scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...

. He has also worked with artists, songwriters and producers, including The Time,

Lipps Inc. Lipps, Inc. ( , a pun on the phrase "lip sync") was an American disco and funk group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group is best known for the chart-topping 1980 worldwide hit single " Funkytown", which hit No. 1 in 28 countries and was certi ...

, The Jets,

Vanity 6 Vanity 6 was an American female vocal trio that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They were protégées of musician Prince. Led by singer Vanity, they are known for their song " Nasty Girl". Vanity left in 1983 and the band was reformed as ...

David Z David Z may refer to: * David Z (producer) David Rivkin (born 1953), 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 an ...

Bobby Z Bobby Z may refer to: People *Bob Dylan (born 1941), American musician, born Robert Zimmerman *Robert Zemeckis Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influent ...

., P. Diddy,

The Rembrandts The Rembrandts are an American alternative rock duo, formed by Danny Wilde and Phil Solem in 1989. They had previously worked together as members of Great Buildings in 1981. The Rembrandts are best known for the song " I'll Be There for You", ...

, Phil Solem, PC Munoz, 7 Aurelius,

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan (born April 20, 1951) is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, A ...

Shock G Gregory Edward Jacobs (August 25, 1963 – April 22, 2021), known professionally as Shock G and by his alter ego Humpty Hump, was an American rapper and musician who was best known as the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground. ...

, Kris Vanderheyden

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

, Criss Starr, and Marc Mozart. Fink has won three

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, three

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

, and numerous RIAA gold and platinum awards for his work with Prince and The Revolution.

Life and career

Fink joined Prince’s band in 1978, which later became The Revolution and worked with him until 1991. His work with Prince included his work with The Revolution, The NPG, Madhouse, and the 1984 film and album ''Purple Rain'', which has sold over 25 million copies worldwide. His work with

includes co-writing credits along with other band members on the songs "

Dirty Mind ''Dirty Mind'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter and musician Prince. It was released on October 8, 1980, by Warner Bros. Records. The album is notable for Prince's increasing reliance on rock music elements, high reg ...

", " Computer Blue", " 17 Days", "

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

" and " It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night", as well as studio session credits on the albums ''

'', ''

Controversy Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

'', ''1999'', ''Purple Rain'', ''

Around the World in a Day ''Around the World in a Day'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the third release on which his backing band the Revolution is billed. It was released on April 22, 1985, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. ...

'', ''Parade'', ''

Sign o' the Times ''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 31, 1987, as a double album by Paisl ...

'', ''

Lovesexy ''Lovesexy'' is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. The album was released on May 10, 1988, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded in just seven weeks, from mid-December 1987 to late Jan ...

', The Black Album', and Graffiti Bridge''. In 1987, Fink opened his own studio facility in Minneapolis, now called “The Operating Room,” where he works on other projects such as his Sony Acid Loop libraries titled ''Dr. Fink’s Funk Factory'' and ''Matt Fink’s StarView Session Keys'' which is also part of the quartet of the ''Artist Integrated Sample Libraries.'' After his tenure with Prince, he became staff producer/engineer for Minneapolis-based record label K-Tel/Dominion Entertainment, from 1991 to 1996 where he produced and recorded fifteen specialty album projects. In 2001, he released the solo album ''Ultrasound''. Other credits include video game soundtracks for Headgames/

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

, work with King Show Games on both voiceover and music for casino game machines, PBS documentaries, and various advertising spots. In 2007, Fink signed an exclusive management deal with the German-based management and production company, Mozart & Friends, where he worked on various projects for

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

. and

Sony Entertainment Sony Entertainment, Inc. is the umbrella entertainment division of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation and managed by its American subsidiary, established in 2012 to oversee the corporation's ventures in film, televisio ...

. Most recently as an executive music producer, he gathered some of the finest musicians/composers for the ''Rhythm Rumble'' video game created by Pixelakes. After Prince's death in 2016, Dr. Fink reunited with The Revolution, who had a song featured in the 2019 Netflix feature, ''Wine Country'' starring

Amy Poehler Amy Meredith Poehler ( ; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her roles in sketch comedy, sitcoms and comedy films, she has earned acclaim and several accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award (out of 26 nom ...

Maya Rudolph Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). During her tenure on the show, she appeared in supporting roles in ...

Rachel Dratch Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. After she graduated from Dartmouth College, she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. Dratch's breakthr ...

Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (; born May 4, 1967) is an American actress, comedian and singer. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's ''Suburgatory ...

, and

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

. Currently, he works with New York-based company V-Media Entertainment as Director of Catalogue and Licensing and staff producer/engineer for their Minneapolis-based recording studio River Rock Studios.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fink, Doctor 1958 births Living people American funk keyboardists American pop keyboardists American rhythm and blues keyboardists American rock keyboardists American soul keyboardists Songwriters from Minnesota Record producers from Minnesota New Power Generation members The Revolution (band) members Musicians from Minneapolis 21st-century American keyboardists Prince associates