During the mid-'80s,
Sheila E. was the biggest and brightest of
Prince's protégées, unique in seeming that she could stand toe to toe with
the Purple One. Certainly during his post-
Revolution tours of the late '80s,
Prince showcased
Sheila E., the culmination of an association that began when
Prince wrote and co-produced her 1984 breakthrough, "The Glamorous Life," and duetted on "A Love Bizarre," the 1985 follow-up that was her second-biggest hit. This close association often framed
Sheila E.'s career entirely in terms of
Prince, but she was a successful musician prior to entering his orbit, recording with
George Duke and touring with
Marvin Gaye, and she worked steadily afterward, touring with the likes of
Ringo Starr and recording her own albums.
As the daughter of legendary jazz percussionist
Pete Escovedo,
Sheila E. -- born
Sheila Cecelia Escovedo on December 12, 1957 -- was born into a musical family that also included her uncle
Alejandro Escovedo.
Sheila E. began her professional career just prior to her 20th birthday, playing percussion on 1976 albums by
Alphonso Johnson (
Yesterday's Dreams) and
Merl Saunders (You Can Leave Your Hat On) and her father's 1977 session, Solo Two. She joined
George Duke's band in 1977 and moonlighted on sessions by
Con Funk Shun,
the Rowans, and
Herbie Hancock. During the early '80s, she continued to play studio sessions, then landed a spot in
Marvin Gaye's touring band in 1983.
Sheila Escovedo began her professional association with
Prince -- and adopted the stage name
Sheila E. -- in 1984. The
Prince-produced
The Glamorous Life appeared in June 1985 and soon its title track -- which was the only cut on the six-track album to be written solely by
Prince -- became a Billboard Top Ten hit; its second single, "The Belle of St. Mark," peaked at 34. During that year,
Sheila E. was part of
Prince's orbit, opening for
the Revolution on the
Purple Rain tour and singing on "Erotic City," the flip to the hit "Let's Go Crazy."
Prince co-produced
Sheila E.'s 1985 album,
Romance 1600, and co-wrote its hit, "A Love Bizarre," with her. In 1986,
Sheila E. appeared on the Krush Groove soundtrack playing "Holly Rock," and released an eponymous album that was her first not to be co-produced by
Prince (instead, she produced the record with
Revolution associate
David Z.). "Hold Me" went to three on Billboard's R&B charts but her pop momentum slowed.
Sheila E. played percussion on
Prince's
Sign 'O' the Times and Lovesexy tours, then parted ways with his organization.
Sheila E. collaborated with
Peter Michael for her 1991 album,
Sex Cymbal, her first record cut without any involvement with
Prince; its title track went to 32 on the Billboard R&B charts. Not long after its release,
Sheila E. suffered a variety of health problems that kept her from the spotlight for several years. During the next few years, she did a few studio sessions, then played in
Namie Amuro's touring band in 1996. In 1998, she was the bandleader and sidekick on Magic Johnson's ill-fated syndicated talk show, The Magic Hour.
Sheila E. returned to recording in 2000 with
Writes of Passage, the first of two albums for Concord Records.
Heaven followed the next year, and also in 2001 she did her first of three stints in
Ringo Starr's
All-Starr Band.
Throughout the 2000s,
Sheila E. worked steadily on-stage and in the studio, notably playing on
Cyndi Lauper's standards album,
At Last. In 2006, she mended fences with
Prince and appeared on his
One Nite Alone...Live! album. That same year, she formed C.O.E.D. -- an acronym for Chronicles of Every Diva -- with
Cassandra O'Neal,
Kat Dyson, and
Rhonda Smith. C.O.E.D. toured and put out a self-released album on the Web. In 2007, she returned to television as a judge on Fox's music competition The Next Great American Band and, two years later, she was a winning contestant on CMT's reality music show Gone Country. As the 2010s began,
Sheila E. continued to perform live in various contexts, including rejoining
Prince for two tours. In 2013, she released
Icon, her first album in 12 years; initially it appeared only in the U.K., but it saw international release in 2014. It was quickly followed by the 2014 publication of her memoir, Beat of My Own Drum. Three years later,
Sheila E. returned with
Iconic: Message 4 America, a new album featuring cameos from
Ringo Starr,
George Clinton, and
Candy Dulfer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine