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Musician Sheila E. makes history with latest Hollywood Star

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First female percussionist honored

Sheila E. made history last week on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first female solo percussionist honored on the fabled walk.

“I am honored, humbled, and blessed to receive this prestigious award,’’ the musician born Sheila Escovedo told City News Service ahead of the ceremony.”`This is a forever moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life.’’

Ringo Starr was among those attending the ceremony in front of the Musicians Institute at 6752 Hollywood Blvd. that was emceed by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and star recipient Jimmy Jam. Jimmy Jam, his songwriting and producing partner Terry Lewis, and Sheila E. received Emmy nominations for outstanding music direction in 2020 as music directors of “Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute To Prince.’’

“I’m proud to call Sheila E. a friend and to be here to say a few words about this incredible woman,” Starr said. “Sheila E is also a force of nature.”

Starr said that during one of his All-Starr Band tours, Sheila E. injured her ankle prior to a show and had to be taken to a hospital. Although he assumed she would not be performing that night, she returned to the venue in a wheelchair and with crutches.

“She got on that (stage) and played like the mad woman she is,” he said.

He said he later saw her before she walked off the stage putting high heels on, insisting she wasn’t going to walk on stage without them.

Grammy and Oscar-winning R&B singer H.E.R. also paid tribute during the ceremony, saying she would listen to Sheila E. when she was a kid. She said when she was 13, she saw Sheila E. perform with Prince.

“And that was the moment that changed my life forever, because in that moment I knew, like, I could do it,” she said. “I’m looking at this amazing woman, musician, multi-instrumentalist on stage with another musician that I love, and I was so inspired.”

Speaking to the crowd, Sheila E. said her parents put her on stage at an early age.

“I was so blessed to be able to learn from my parents what it is to recognize your talent and your passion, when you know what that is and your purpose, it hits different.”

“... I’m so grateful for this. I’m honored and humbled.”

At the end of the ceremony, she performed a song on drums with her father, Pete Escovedo, who received a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 along with his daughter.

Her star is the 2,759th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.

Born Dec. 12, 1957, in Oakland, Sheila E. gave her first public performance when she was 5 years old, appearing alongside her father in front of a crowd of 3,000, in a performance she told CNS “changed my life.”

“I did not realize this was something that I wanted to do,” she said. “At the end of that performance, I knew then, and only then this was my purpose.”

Sheila E. made her recording debut with jazz bassist Alphonso Johnson on “Yesterday’s Dream” in 1976. By her early 20s, she had already played with George Duke, Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock and Diana Ross. In 1977, she and her father released the album “Solo Two.” That same year, she joined The George Duke Band.

Following a Bay Area gig in the late 1970s, Sheila E. met Prince backstage, which led to their “Purple Rain” recording sessions, including her vocals on the 1984 classic “Erotic City.”

Sheila E. also released her first album in 1984, “The Glamorous Life,” which reached seventh on the Billboard R&B charts and was certified as a gold album by the recording industry trade group, the Recording Industry Association of America.

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