Artist Roster |
Sheila E. / C.O.E.D.
Official Website : | www.sheilae.com |
MySpace: |
www.myspace.com/sheilae |
Wikipedia.org: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_E |
In a nutshell
Sheila E. is a multi-faceted drummer, percussionist, vocalist, songwriter, performer, arranger, producer, composer, instrumentalist and humanitarian.
Biography
Sheila Escovedo was born into a musical family. The eldest child of Pete
and Juanita Escovedo (she has two brothers, Juan and Peter Michael, and one
sister, Zina), she started playing with the family instruments at the age
of 3.
Sheila was obviously influenced by her father Latin jazz legend and
timbalero Pete Escovedo (then band leader of the influential band Azteca)
while watching him rehearse. At 5 years old, she made her concert "debut" at
the former Sands Ballroom in Oakland, as she was invited on stage by her
father to play a solo in front of an audience of 3,000. At that moment, Sheila
knew exactly what she wanted to do: she was going to be a percussionist.
From age 17, Sheila has recorded and toured extensively with renowned
artists such as Babyface, Billy Cobham, Natalie Cole, George Duke, Pete Escovedo,
Gloria Estefan, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Nicks, Patti LaBelle,
Cyndi Lauper, Prince, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Ringo Starr, Tito Puente,
Don Was, Stevie Wonder and countless others, but to name a few.
In 1983, Sheila caught the attention of Prince and changed her name
to "Sheila E.," and Prince helped her record her first solo album, "The
Glamorous Life". The first single from the album, "The Glamorous
Life", written, performed, and directed by Sheila E., was released in
the spring of 1984 and earned popular and critical acclaim. This single went
on to receive multiple Grammy and American Music Award nominations, and won
MTV's Best Video Award. "The Glamorous Life" yielded a hit single
in the title track, and another hit for its follow-up single, "The Belle
of St. Mark".
After three months of sold out performances in Europe and the United
States, Sheila began touring as the opening act for Prince's 1984-85 sold
out Purple Rain Tour, all while composing her follow-up album, "Romance
1600". Released in August of 1985, "Romance 1600" raced up
the charts with its mega-single "A Love Bizarre". A three-month
engagement opening for Lionel Richie followed a headlining tour in the spring,
1986, of which a video of her March 1986 San Francisco performance (called "Romance
1600 Live") was later that year released.
In 1986, Sheila made her acting debut in the motion picture "Krush Groove",
and contributed the song "Holly Rock" to its soundtrack. Soon after,
she released her third album entitled "Sheila E.", which included
yet another smash single, "Hold Me", which went to #1 on Billboard's
chart and had a fast-growing international reputation. Instead of touring
to support her own album, however, Sheila joined Prince's band, playing drums
and percussion, for his European tour supporting his album "Sign o'
the Times", a tour that Rolling Stone Magazine readers rated as the
15th best tour in music history. Showing her strong family roots and love
for Latin jazz, she joined her father, Pete, and fellow Latin jazz legend,
the great Tito Puente, on a special concert which deviated from the pop and
funk music she had become popular playing. Later released on video and CD
as "Latina Familia", the performance showcased her skills as a
virtuoso musician. In 1988 and 1989, Sheila toured again with Prince on his "Lovesexy" World
Tour, playing drums and percussion.
In the following year, she appeared in the Andrew Dice Clay comedy "The
Adventures of Ford Fairlane" and in 1991, released her fourth CD, "Sex
Cymbal". The CD, which was largely produced by her younger brother Peter
Michael, included two singles accompanied by brilliant videos: the title
track, and "Droppin' Like Flies".
After taking several years off for health reasons, Sheila's next project,
the E-Train, started in 1994. The band that played a mixture of soul, Latin
jazz, funk, fusion and gospel toured in Europe in 1994, and finally released
a CD, entitled "Writes of Passage" in 1998.
In 1998, Sheila became the first female bandleader on late night television
on Magic Johnson's variety show "The Magic Hour", and she co-wrote
and co-produced the late night show's theme song.
Sheila has played on countless albums, including the soundtrack to "Prince
of Egypt", featuring Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, successful Japanese
artist Namie Amuro (whom she also toured with in 1996 and 2002) and Gloria
Estefan's hugely successful "Mi Tierra".
Among her other notable appearances, Sheila performed at the 35th Annual
Academy Awards with the incomparable Placido Domingo, the 1996 Summer Olympics
and was featured in the "all girl" Grammy production opening number
featuring Ellen De Generes. Other notable performances included MTV Unplugged
with Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, and "The Concert of The Americas",
where past and present U.S. Presidents and their families were in attendance.
Appeared as "featured artist" with Jennifer Lopez on her promotional
tour in 1999. Performed with Prince, Wendy & Lisa at the 2006 Brit Awards
with a viewing audience of over 20 million.
In 2004 Sheila joined Prince on the "Musicology" tour, which was
seen by 1.5 million people. She also performed "The Glamorous Life" at
the 7th Annual VH1 Divas, a benefit concert for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation
that was televised worldwide, and in the summer of 2006 Sheila returned for
the third time and toured in concert with the legendary Ringo Starr.
For a list of her albums, singles, videos and recordings for other
artists, please visit the music section of her official website.
In 2006, together with Rhonda Smith (bass) and Kat Dyson (guitar), Sheila E. formed an all girls band called C. O. E. D. (Chronicles Of Every Diva), with whom she plans to tour Europe and beyond.
(source: www.sheilae.com)
