Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a variety of artists.

In 1972, he joined the rock band Rabbitt, which enjoyed considerable success in South Africa, and released his first solo album, Beginnings.

His mother, Joy, was a painter, ballet dancer, actress, and classical pianist, and his father, Godfrey, was a lawyer, musician, conductor, and the lead violinist in the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

[5] His paternal great-grandfather was a Lithuanian Jew who was a cantor, and his grandfather, Gershon Rabinowitz, was a kosher butcher who arrived in South Africa in the late nineteenth century.

He recalled, "Pushed by my parents, I had two lessons a week and practised an hour a day for twelve years, whether I liked it or not, as did my brother and sister.

[15] For several months Rabin studied arrangement, orchestration, and conducting from Walter Mony, a professor at the University of Johannesburg in preparation to be a conductor, but he decided to pursue a career in rock music.

[8][16] At sixteen, Rabin was discovered by a local record producer and became a session musician, playing a variety of styles including jazz, fusion, country, classical, conga, and kwela.

[13][17] He cites Arnold Schoenberg, Tchaikovsky, Hank Marvin,[13] Cliff Richard and the Shadows, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix as early influences.

At nineteen, Rabin took a mandatory year of military conscription in the South African Army by serving in its entertainment division, arranging its big band, performing in a rock group, and did outside session work at Gallo Record Company.

[12] In 1972, Rabin reunited with his bandmates in Conglomeration to form the rock band Rabbitt with drummer Neil Cloud, bassist Ronnie Robot, and singer, keyboardist, and guitarist Duncan Faure.

[24] Billboard magazine gave a positive review: "An impressive outing marked by a rock style that invites comparisons to Boston at times or a Tom Petty" with "explosive" keyboards and guitars.

[31] Recorded at Konk Studios in London, Rabin provided lead vocals, guitars, and keyboards while using various musicians to contribute, including drummer Simon Phillips, bassists Jack Bruce and Mo Foster, keyboardists Mann and John Bundrick, and Chris Thompson and Noel McCalla on additional vocals.

During this time, Rabin played guitars on "Runner" and a rendition of "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley for Manfred Mann's Earth Band's album Somewhere in Afrika (1983).

In 1981, Rabin moved to Los Angeles upon the encouragement from Geffen Records A&R man John Kalodner, and began to develop material for a fourth solo album for the label with drummer Frankie Banali and bassist Mark Andes.

[26] This proposed rock supergroup with Rabin, singer and bassist John Wetton, drummer Carl Palmer, and keyboardist Rick Wakeman never came to fruition.

[25] In late 1982, Rabin, Squire and White formed Cinema which included original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye, and recorded 90125 with former Yes singer Trevor Horn as producer.

During the mixing stages in mid-1983, former Yes singer Jon Anderson returned to sing on the album which led to the group becoming a reformed line-up of Yes.

[32][33] Released in 1983, 90125 remains the band's highest selling album with three million copies sold in the US alone, helped by its lead single "Owner of a Lonely Heart", one of Rabin's songs, which reached No.

The 1987–88 Big Generator tour featured the hits, but other album tracks, such as "Final Eyes" and "I'm Running," were dropped because as Rabin later said, they never quite happened live.

3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Short Form Music Video.

In 1989 and 1990, Rabin completed a solo tour of the US with drummer Lou Molino III, bassist Jim Simmons, and keyboardist Mark Mancina.

[35][36] Despite requesting only one be used, Anderson wished to use all three which prompted discussions among the two group's management over the idea of Yes and ABWH working on a single album, Union.

Rabin thought a merge "was useful and convenient to everyone" as it was a quick way to get the band back on the road touring,[37] and completed "Lift Me Up", "Miracle of Life", and "Saving My Heart".

The tour featured the eight members playing on stage; though it did little to improve relations between Howe and himself, Rabin began a good relationship with Rick Wakeman.

[39] Rabin has twice scored for silent films as a way of practising his composition and orchestration skills, first on the piano and transcribing the music for orchestra.

[14] In June 1999, he was one of several guest rock musicians performing with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by George Martin at a charity fund-raising concert.

[41] In the early 2000s, Rabin declined an offer to join Foreigner as keyboardist due to contractual obligations with film scoring.

In 2004, Rabin joined former and current members of Yes to perform "Cinema" and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" at a tribute concert for producer Trevor Horn at Wembley Arena in London, in aid of the Prince's Trust.

Rabin composed the theme for Turner Broadcasting System's NBA on TNT in 2002, MLB on TBS in 2007, and March Madness in 2011, and Disney's Mission: Space attraction at Epcot.

Tal Wilkenfeld plays bass on "Anerley Road" and Liz Constantine provides vocals on "Rescue", a track Rabin originally recorded for The Guardian (2006).