Sheila E.

Released: August 12, 1985

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Verse 1]
Time to sleep
But I'm not sleepy yet
Close my eyes
But dreamland's not a sure bet

[Chorus]
Don't go
Stay with me
Tell me a bedtime story

[Verse 2]
Long ago there was a princess
She was so fine
She was all alone
For her prince
He never had no time
You can hear her crying

[Chorus]
Stay with me
Tell me a bedtime story

[Interlude]
Don't go
Stay with me
Please, talk to me

[Verse 3]
Far away
I want to go
And start my life all over
Instead, I'll stay
Maybe I'll find a four leaf clover

[Chorus]
Stay with me
Tell me a bedtime story, yeah
Stay with me
Tell me a bedtime story
Goodnight

Sheila E., born Sheila Escovedo on December 12, 1957, is a singer, songwriter, and percussionist from Oakland, California. Her honorific title is “The Queen of Percussion”.

The daughter of a Mexican jazz percussionist and Creole/African-American factory worker, Sheila comes from a family of musical royalty – father Pete Escovedo and uncle Coke were members of the Santana band for a time. Her other uncles are Alejandro, who has had a sustained alt-punk career; Javier, who led the early punk pioneer band The Zeros; and Mario, who fronted the 90s group The Dragons and MEX, aka Mario Escovedo Xperience. Sheila’s brothers Juan and Peter Michael are also percussionists, with Peter working on The Wayne Brady Show. Sheila is the goddaughter of Tito Puente, a Latin Jazz pioneer and Spanish Harlem legend.

“Before I had language, I had rhythm,” she wrote in The Beat Of My Own Drum, a 2014 memoir. “I learned it before I learned my mother tongue.” At the age of 20, Sheila became a member of George Duke’s R&B jazz band, and worked with him from 1976 to 1980, during Duke’s early Epic/CBS years. By the age of 26, she had already worked or toured with Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, Diana Ross, and family friend Lionel Richie.

more tracks from the album

Romance 1600

From the album

Romance 1600 (1985)

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Sheila E.

Romance 1600