Queen of Percussion

One of life’s constants for Sheila E. comes down to a simple phrase: follow the beat.  And her impeccable inner rhythm is the pulse behind a trailblazing career that still  knows no bounds. 

Family, faith and music were guiding forces for Sheila E. growing up in the Bay Area. In  addition to percussionist dad Pete, the Oakland,CA native counts former Santana  member/Azteca founder Coke Escovedo and The Dragons front man Mario Escovedo  as uncles. Fellow Latin star Tito Puente was her godfather. In addition to being weaned  on Latin jazz and Motown, Sheila E. was exposed to a diverse array of Bay Area acts.  Those influences ranged from the rock of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead to  the R&B/pop of the Pointer Sisters and the funk of Sly & the Family Stone. “I used to sit  on the corner outside of the local community center with Twinkies and 7-Up listening to  Sly and Larry Graham rehearse,” remembers Sheila E. “The sounds of the Bay Area  molded me.” 

So it’s no surprise that after such a music-immersive childhood, the gifted, world-class  drummer and percussionist began amassing an impressive string of credits playing not  only with her dad but also with pioneering talents like George Duke, Herbie Hancock,  Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Prince, Ringo Starr, Gloria Estefan, Beyonce  and Jennifer Lopez. Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter behind the seminal  hits “The Glamorous Life” and “A Love Bizarre.” A fearless multi-instrumentalist, equally  proficient on guitar and bass, actress, mentor and philanthropist. 

Following a Bay Area gig in the late ‘70s, Sheila E. met Prince backstage. Their Purple  Rain recording sessions—including her vocals on the 1984 classic “Erotic City”— morphed into launching her solo career that same year. Debut album The Glamorous  Life spun off the Grammy Award-nominated top 10 hit of the same name plus a second  top 40 single “The Belle of St. Mark.” Between her ‘80s tenure as drummer, songwriter  and musical director for Prince’s backup band, Sheila E. released two more solo albums  (Romance 1600 and Shelia E.) and scored another classic hit with “A Love Bizarre.”  

Sheila E.’s fierce, dynamic verve onstage has made her a major concert draw since the ‘90s. Along  the way, she has acted in the films “Krush Groove”, “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane”, “Chasing  Papi” and launched various music projects (E-Train, C.O.E.D., E Family Band). She added to her  arsenal of credits performing on the 2012 Academy Awards with pop hitmaker Pharrell Williams and  composer Hans Zimmer. Sheila E. was also among the roster of stars chosen to perform at the 2013  Kennedy Center Honors whose honorees included artists Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel and Carlos  Santana. 

Sheila E.'s producing, arranging, and performance talents have been showcased throughout the  music and film industry with appearances on, The Academy Awards, The Latin Grammy Awards,  BET Awards, The American Music Awards, The Kennedy Center Honors, The Summer Olympics,  WOW Awards, ALMA's, and The Image Awards just to name a few. In 2010 Sheila was nominated  for an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Music Direction” in recognition for her leadership as musical  director for President Obama’s Performance at The White House: Fiesta Latina and again more  recently in 2020 for “Let’s Go Crazy” Grammy Salute to Prince. Other projects, include The E Family 

Now and Forever, Pete Escovedo Live at Stern Grove Festival with her father Pete Escovedo, and  brothers Juan and Peter Michael Escovedo, Sheila E. Live from Lugano Switzerland DVD, Silk  Road from the group Heavenese hailing from Japan, a literary biography released by Simon &  Schuster Publishing Titled The Beat of My Own Drum, ICON Sheila's 2014 solo album and the  single release Girl Meets Boy in memory of the late, great, Prince. Her 2017 studio project and tour,  ICONIC, was Sheila's effort to bring awareness to social issues and humanitarianism. Her 2020  single releases, “No Line” with the legendary Snoop Dogg, “Lemon Cake” & “Bailar” are Sheila's  continued contribution to the music industry. 

Away from the spotlight, music doubles as a source of healing and giving back for Sheila E. In  tandem with the city of Oakland, she and her Elevate Hope organization staged the first annual  “Elevate Oakland” benefit concert on Feb. 1, 2014. A host of Bay Area artists and other acclaimed  musicians performed at the city-donated Fox Theatre. The goal: to raise funds to improve student  academic achievement and attendance through music and arts programming. But this wasn’t Sheila  E.’s first time giving back. Between gigs, she has also criss-crossed the country, speaking at schools  and colleges, shelters, church organizations, music classes and clinics about music’s effect on her  life and career. “Sharing music in any way I can is my ministry,” she says. 

And that was part of the inspiration for penning the autobiography “The Beat of My Own Drum”.  Playing a perceived male instrument and working in a male dominated industry exacted a personal  price—several years ago Sheila E. publicly acknowledged she was an abuse survivor. “The book  was the beginning of the healing”, says Sheila E. “I’d talked about working in a male-dominated  industry in my ministry and addressed it in some of the song lyrics I’d written. But it was challenging  to sit down and write about it in detail for the book. No one in my household told me I couldn’t play  drums because I was a girl. It wasn’t until I was outside of the house and playing sessions. But  through pain comes realization, understanding and the opportunity to help others overcome those  challenges”. 

Sheila E. continues to produce and perform music throughout the world. As music fans across the  globe recommit to live music again, the timing could not have been better for Sheila E. and the E Train to drop the new album “Hella FonkE” and reignite stages everywhere. Sheila E., the “Queen of  Percussion” adds another exciting notch to her prolific career as a recording artist, producer and  musician extraordinaire. 

E-Train was founded in the early 90s and reflected the more jazz nuanced side of Sheila’s  compositions and artistry. Though renowned for her amazing R&B and pop career, before she was  Sheila E., she was Sheila Escovedo, cutting her teeth as a child with her father, the latin jazz legend  Pete Escovedo. This eventually led to gigs with George Duke and Herbie Hancock, among many  other musical giants 

The Queen of Percussion plans to release more new music in 2023, in the process of completing her  first ever Salsa project. Sheila E. is CEO of the entertainment company StilettoFlats Inc. located in  Los Angeles California. 

With no Google or YouTube artist script to follow back then, she says her career drive was propelled  by one thing: “I just did it because I loved it. I started all this as Sheila Escovedo then became this  persona named Sheila E. Now Sheila E. and Sheila Escovedo are the same person, still making  music that comes from the heart.”