Sheila E was born Sheila Cecilia Escovedo on December 12th, 1957 in Oakland, California. She is one of the most renowned percussionists in the world, as she is referred to as the Queen of Percussion. Escovedo is also a singer, author, and actress.

Escovedo began her career in her adolescent years as singer and percussionist of the George Duke Band. She left the group in 1983 and had mainstream success the next year, as she entered the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart where she took her breakthrough smash and signature tune, "The Glamorous Life" to a peak of #7. Sheila E. had two more Top 40 hits in the USA with "The Belle Of St. Mark" hitting #34 at the end of 1984 and "A Love Bizarre" stopping at #11 in early 1986.

One of the highlights of Escovedo's career was being a protege of the iconic musician, Prince. Their partnership began in 1977 when Sheila E. and her father were performing at a concert with the Purple One telling her that he and his bassist were arguing about who was going to be her husband. They started recording together in 1984 when Prince's film, "Purple Rain" was making waves. She provided vocals to Prince's track, "Erotic City", the B-side to the #1 smash, "Let's Go Crazy". Four years after Prince passed away, Escovedo musically directed a tribute concert to her longtime associate that aired on the CBS Network.

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