Sheila E.
Queen of Percussion
Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Regarded as one of the greatest percussionists of her generation, she is a multi-instrumentalist known for playing drums and percussion. She is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Percussion". Her music incorporates a wide variety of styles, including R&B, funk, jazz, pop, synth-pop, latin pop, and salsa.
- Role
- Percussionist, vocalist, songwriter
- Affiliation
- The Revolution; Prince's recording and touring ensemble
- Heritage
- Filipino and Mexican
- Key era
- Mid-1980s (Purple Rain / Sign o' the Times period)
- Primary instruments
- Drums, congas, bongos, cowbell, hand percussion
- Post-Prince career
- Solo artist, touring musician, session percussionist
Lore & Background
Born and raised in Oakland, California, Sheila E. is the daughter of Juanita Gardere, a dairy factory worker, and percussionist Pete Escovedo. Her mother is of Creole-French/African descent, and her father is of Mexican-American origin. She was raised Catholic. 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 Their Own Story
The backline was a cathedral of wood and brass, stacked high behind the drum throne. Sheila E. ran her fingers over the heads of her congas, feeling the tension, the temperature of the room. The house lights dimmed to that particular shade of violet that meant Prince was about to walk onstage, and the crowd inched forward like a tide. She caught the cowbell, let it ring once—sharp, metallic, a single note hanging in the humid air of the arena. Then the downbeat hit, and she was gone into the rhythm, her hands a blur of strikes and slides, her hips swaying with the cumbia pulse she'd carried since childhood. Somewhere upstage, a guitar wailed. She didn't look. She never needed to. The groove was hers, and the groove was the truth.
Reader's Guide
Sheila began her music career as a percussionist for the George Duke Band from 1976 to 1980. She rose to mainstream success with the release of her debut album, The Glamorous Life (1984), on Warner Bros. Records. The album's singles "The Glamorous Life" and "The Belle of St. Mark" became international hits. The album earned four Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist. Her follow-up album Romance 1600 (1985) produced another top-charting international hit called "A Love Bizarre". She released two more albums on Warner Bros. Records: Sheila E. (1987) and Sex Cymbal (1991). In 2021, she received a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In July 2023, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In April 2024, she released her tenth album, Bailar. The album's single "Bemba Colorá" won a Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
Did You Know?
- Sheila E. is the daughter of percussionist Pete Escovedo and Juanita Gardere.
- Her godfather was Tito Puente.
- She is the niece of Coke Escovedo, who was in Santana and formed the band Azteca.
- Nicole Richie is Sheila E.'s niece, the daughter of Sheila's musician brother, Peter Michael Escovedo.
- She contributed percussion to Michael Jackson's song "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" in 1979.
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