Sheila E.

I've had a soft spot for Sheila E. ever since I first heard "The Glamorous Life" blasting out of a radio in the mid-80s — that groove hits different when you realize the woman singing it is also the one absolutely destroying the drum kit. Growing up in Oakland with funk and R&B in the air, then going on to Berklee, she didn't just learn music; she became a force of nature behind it. Her run with Prince produced some of the most memorable pop moments of the decade, but she was never just a collaborator — she was always her own artist with her own voice. The Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award she received in 2021 felt long overdue, honestly. Decades in, still performing, still commanding every stage she steps onto — "Queen of Percussion" isn't a nickname, it's just an accurate job title.

Name (English)

Sheila E.

Name (Japanese)

シーラ・E

Reading

しーら・E

Born

December 12, 1957 (age 68)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Rooster

Origin

Oakland, California, United States

Occupation

singer / drummer / percussionist / singer-songwriter / composer

High school

Oakland High School

University

Berklee College of Music

Awards & achievements

• 2021 Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
• honorary doctor of the Berklee College of Music

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://www.sheilae.com/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/sheilaedrummer/
• Xhttps://x.com/SheilaEdrummer
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9%E3%83%BBE

Tags

• California
• singer
• drummer
• percussionist

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.