The Beat of My Own Drum

Sheila E., born Sheila Escovedo in 1957, picked up the drumsticks and started making music at the precocious age of three, inspired by her legendary father, percussionist Pete Escovedo. By nineteen, she had fallen in love with Carlos Santana. By twenty-one, she met Prince at one of her concerts. After the show, he told her that he and his bassist "were just fighting about which one of us would be your husband." Sheila E. and Prince would eventually join forces and collaborate for more than two decades, creating hits that catapulted Sheila to her own pop superstardom.

The Beat of My Own Drumis both a walk through four decades of Latin and pop music-from her tours with Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie, Prince, and Ringo Starr-to her own solo career. At the same time, it's also a heart-breaking, ultimately redemptive look at how the sanctity of music can save a person's life. Having endured sexual abuse as a child, Sheila credits her parents, music, and God with giving her the will to carry on and to build a lasting legacy. Rich in musical detail, pop and Latin music history from the '70s and '80s, and Sheila's personal story, this memoir is a unique glimpse into a drummer's singular life-a treat for both new and long-time fans of Sheila E. And above all, it is a testament to how the positive power of music serves as the heartbeat of her life.