1976–1983: Beginnings In 1976, Escovedo debuted on
jazz bassist
Alphonso Johnson's ''
Yesterday's Dream. In 1977, Escovedo and her father Pete Escovedo released an album called Solo Two'', credited to Pete and Sheila Escovedo. In the same year, she joined
the George Duke Band as their percussionist. Escovedo appeared on Duke's albums, including ''Don't Let Go
(1978), Follow the Rainbow
(1979), Master of the Game
(1979), and A Brazilian Love Affair
(1980). In 1978, Escovedo and her father released their second album, Happy Together'', on
Fantasy Records. In 1979, she contributed percussion to
Michael Jackson's song "
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 1980, she appeared on
Herbie Hancock's album
Monster. In 1983, she joined
Marvin Gaye's final tour, the
Sexual Healing Tour, as one of his percussionists.
1984–1992: The Glamorous Life and career breakthrough In early 1984, Escovedo signed a record deal with
Warner Bros. Records and adopted the stage name Sheila E. She began recording her first solo album with singer and musician
Prince, whom she met at a concert when she was performing with her father in 1977. On June 4, 1984, she released her debut solo album,
The Glamorous Life. The album peaked at number 28 on the U.S.
Billboard 200 and sold over 500,000 copies in the United States, becoming certified
gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album's lead single, "
The Glamorous Life", peaked in the top ten on the US
Hot 100 and at number one on the US
Dance chart. The album earned four nominations at the
27th Annual Grammy Awards including
Best New Artist,
Best R&B Instrumental Performance for "Shortberry Strawcake", and
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance as well as
Best R&B Song for "The Glamorous Life". She also performed "
Baby I'm a Star" with Prince during the ceremony. In July 1984, she appeared on Prince's song "
Erotic City". In November 1984, Sheila began touring as the opening act of
Purple Rain Tour. Shortly after the tour, she signed with Prince's record label
Paisley Park Records. In March 1985, she appeared on
USA for Africa's song "
We Are the World". Sheila released her second album,
Romance 1600, on August 26, 1985. Sheila released "
Holly Rock" as a single from its
soundtrack album, which entered the top ten in Belgium and the Netherlands. On February 24, 1987, Sheila released her
eponymous third studio album. The album featured the single "
Hold Me", an R&B ballad that peaked at number three on the
R&B chart. In July 1996, Sheila appeared as a percussionist and background vocalist on Japanese singer
Namie Amuro's album
Sweet 19 Blues. She also toured as the drummer and background vocalist for Amuro's Sweet 19 Blues Tour. In 1998, she played percussion on the
Phil Collins cover of "True Colors". In the same year, she became the music director for
Magic Johnson's talk show,
The Magic Hour, making her the first female musical director in television. She released her fifth album,
Writes of Passage, on October 10, 2000. On August 28, 2001, she released her sixth album,
Heaven. In 2001, she joined
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band and toured with the band in 2001, 2003, and 2006. In 2002, Sheila appeared on the
Beyoncé song "
Work It Out". In 2002, she reunited and performed with Prince during his
One Nite Alone... Tour. In November 2003, she provided the musical arrangements for
Cyndi Lauper's cover version of "
Stay". In 2004, she joined Mexican-American musician
Abraham Laboriel for his New Zealand tour as drummer and percussionist. In May 2004, she appeared on
Tonex's song "Todos Juntos", which is featured on his
Out the Box album. She appeared as the music director for
Amerie's
World Music Awards and
The Lady Of Soul performances in 2005.
2006–2012: C.O.E.D. and the E. Family In February 2006, she performed with Prince at the
BRIT Awards and on the
Good Morning show in June 2006. She also performed at the Sonoma Jazz Festival in 2006 as part of Herbie Hancock's band. In the same year, Sheila formed her female band called C.O.E.D. (acronym for Chronicles of Every Diva). The band performed on several live televised shows and also recorded an album that was never released. She performed at the 2007
Latin Grammy Awards with
Juan Luis Guerra. In mid-2007, she toured with Prince. In October 2007, she appeared as a judge on
Fox network's
The Next Great American Band. On April 9, 2008, she appeared on the
Emmy winning program
Idol Gives Back. She took part in the show opener, "
Get on Your Feet", with
Gloria Estefan while the
So You Think You Can Dance finalists dance troupe joined them on stage. On April 26, 2008, she performed with Prince at the
Coachella Music Festival. From May 2 to 6, 2008, she played four sold-out shows at
Blue Note Tokyo, the most frequented jazz music club in Tokyo, Japan. On June 14, 2008, Sheila E. performed at the Rhythm on the Vine Music and Wine Festival at the South Coast Winery in Temecula, California for
Shriners Hospital for Children. On May 30, 2009, Sheila E. and the E Family Band performed at Rhythm on the Vine at Gainey Vineyard in Santa Ynez, California for the Hot Latin Beats concert. Also performing at the concert was
Poncho Sanchez. On December 13, 2009, Sheila E. performed at the Deryck Walcott produced Christmas Jazz held at the Plantation Restaurant in Barbados. In 2009, Sheila E. participated and won the
CMT reality show,
Gone Country. This gave her an opportunity to make country music aided by the country producer, writer, and singer
John Rich. Sheila E.'s first song in the country market was "Glorious Train". A video for the song debuted on CMT on March 7, 2009, following the airing of the episode of
Gone Country in which Sheila E. was announced the winner. Sheila E. performed two shows at Yoshi's in Oakland, California, on August 15, 2010. At her merchandise stand, she sold an EP
From E 2 U. She toured on Prince's
20Ten Tour and
Welcome 2 America tours. In 2010, she joined forces with Avon as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices, Avon's first global, online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women. On May 25, 2011, Sheila performed alongside
Marc Anthony on the 10th-season finale of
American Idol. On June 7, 2011, she performed on the
Late Show with David Letterman as a part of the show's first "Drum Solo Week". In September 2011, the E. Family consisting of Pete Escovedo, Peter Michael Escovedo III, Juan Escovedo, and Sheila released an album,
Now & Forever. The album spawned the singles "Do What It Do" and "I Like It". On February 26, 2012, Sheila performed at the 2012 Academy Awards alongside
Pharrell Williams and
Hans Zimmer, playing into and out of commercial segments. On April 17, 2012, Sheila was featured with "Macy's Stars of Dance" on the
Dancing with the Stars results show. The next day, she released a single titled "Girl Meets Boy" in honor of Prince. In 2017, she was the featured percussionist for the soundtrack to the film
The Boss Baby, which was also co-produced by Zimmer. She was featured in
Fred Armisen's 2018 Netflix comedy special
Stand Up for Drummers. Sheila played percussion on
Gary Clark Jr.'s album
This Land. She performed and served as music director for Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince concert at the
Staples Center on January 28, 2020. On April 17, 2020, she released the single "Lemon Cake" which was available as an audio track on
YouTube. On May 14, 2020, Sheila E. premiered the official video for "Lemon Cake" on Rated R&B. In July 2020, Sheila E. collaborated with
MasterClass to create "Sheila E. Teaches Drumming and Percussion".
2022–present: Bailar In 2022, Sheila, along with her band the E-Train, released an album titled
Hella Fonk E. The band also embarked on the Hella Fonk E Tour. In 2023, Sheila was featured on
Kelly Clarkson's song "That's Right", which appears on her album
Chemistry (2023). Sheila became the music director for the 2023 CBS bilingual, multicultural
game show Lotería Loca. In April 2024, she released her tenth album,
Bailar. The album earned a nomination at
67th Annual Grammy Awards for
Best Tropical Latin Album and the album's single "Bemba Colorá" won the
Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance.In 2025, she appeared as a special guest in
Christina Aguilera's concert film
Christmas in Paris, performing the song "
Little Drummer Girl". ==Artistry==