Sheila E.

Sheila Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer and drummer.

She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist for the George Duke Band.

Sheila made her recording debut with jazz bassist Alphonso Johnson on Yesterday's Dream in 1976.

By her early 20s, she had already played with George Duke, Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, and Diana Ross.

In 1977, she and her father released the album Solo Two.

That same year, she joined The George Duke Band.

Prince met Sheila E. at a concert in 1977, when she was performing with her father.

After the show he met her and told her that he and his bassist Andre Cymone "were just fighting about which one of us would be the first to be your husband."

He also vowed that one day she would join his band.

The two would eventually join forces during the Purple Rain recording sessions.

She appeared on several of Duke's albums, including Don't Let Go (1978), Follow the Rainbow (1979), Master of the Game (1979), and A Brazilian Love Affair (1980).

Along with appearing on Duke's Don't Let Go in 1978, Escovedo and her father released Happy Together that year on Fantasy Records, sharing billing as Pete and Sheila Escovedo.

In 1980, she appeared on the pivotal Herbie Hancock album Monster.

They would later become briefly engaged in the late 1980s, during Prince's Lovesexy Tour.

After separating from the group in 1983, Sheila began collaborating with Prince and launched a solo career, starting with the release of her debut album in 1984, which included her biggest hit "The Glamorous Life".

In 1983, she joined Marvin Gaye's final tour Midnight Love Tour as one of his percussionists.

She provided vocals to the Prince song "Erotic City" in 1984.

Though part of the Prince camp to some degree, she proved to be an artist in her own right as well.

In June 1984, her debut album The Glamorous Life was released on Warner Bros. Records.

The album's title-song, "The Glamorous Life", peaked at number 7 on the US Hot 100 and also topped the dance charts for two weeks in August 1984.

The video for the song would bring three MTV Award nominations for Best Female Video, Best New Artist, and Best Choreography.

She also received two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance Female.

The second single, "The Belle of St. Mark", became a moderate hit, peaking at number 34 on the Hot 100.

It became NME's "Single of the Week".

Sheila E. also toured as the opening act for Prince's Purple Rain Tour and the two began a romantic relationship, while Prince was still involved with Susannah Melvoin, twin sister of The Revolution band member, Wendy Melvoin.

She also saw a hit with the 1985 single "A Love Bizarre".

She is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Percussion".

Born in Oakland, California, Sheila E. is the daughter of Juanita Gardere, a dairy factory worker, and percussionist Pete Escovedo, with whom she frequently performs.

Her mother is of Creole-French/African descent, and her father is of Mexican-American origin.

She was raised Catholic.

Sheila E's uncles include Alejandro Escovedo; Javier Escovedo, founder of seminal San Diego punk act The Zeros; Mario Escovedo, who fronted long-running indie rockers The Dragons; and Coke Escovedo, who was in Santana and formed the band Azteca.

Nicole Richie is Sheila E.'s biological niece, the daughter of Sheila's musician brother, Peter Michael Escovedo.

Tito Puente was her godfather.

She has publicly stated that, at the age of five, she was raped by her teenaged babysitter, and this event had a profound influence on her childhood development.

In 1985, her second album, titled Romance 1600, was released.

Its lead single "Sister Fate" failed to crack the US Hot 100; it peaked at number 36 on the R&B charts.

The album's second single, "A Love Bizarre", saw more success, peaking at number 11 on the US Hot 100, becoming her second and last time reaching the US Hot 100 top twenty.

The non-album track "Holly Rock" made its way to live shows and into the film Krush Groove.

In July 1987, her third album, the self-titled Sheila E., was released.

The first single, the ballad "Hold Me", peaked at number 3 on the R&B chart.