BOOK REVIEW: THE BEAT OF MY OWN DRUM By Sheila E

BOOK REVIEW: THE BEAT OF MY OWN DRUM By Sheila E
Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
2014
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
7/10

If you can soldier through Sheila Escovado – ‘80s pop star and Prince’s one-time fiancé and band member Sheila E – and co-author Wendy Holden praising God and love and family over and over as infinitum, then you’ll get to the heart of an intriguing life and extraordinary career.

From her happy childhood in California to an African American mother and a Mexican father, through harrowing tales of sexual abuse at the hands of cousins, to driving ambition and forging a career as a percussionist and vocalist playing with her father Pete Escovedo and the exulted likes of Carlo Santana, Herbie Hancock, Marvin Gaye, George Duke, Lionel Richie, Tito Puente, Diana Ross and Billy Cobham as well as the recently departed Purple one.

Perhaps most importantly, Sheila goes into depth about her Elevate Hope Foundation, which provides musical therapy for victims of child abuse. As a victim herself, she could easily have withdrawn and let it ruin her life, but music (and God, as we are constantly reminded) saved her, so this is her way of giving back to the next generation.

Category: Book Reviews