Arts & Entertainment, Music
Collaborating With Prince
Lesson time 15:09 min
Sheila shares personal stories and lessons from her years collaborating with Prince.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Producing “The Glamorous Life”
Preview
[00:00:00.00] [MUSIC PLAYING] [00:00:08.28] - First of all, I want to clear up a rumor. In "Sister Fate," there is in the video there's a mystery lover. Now, right here in front of millions of people, you will reveal, is that or is that not Prince? [00:00:19.68] - Yes. [00:00:20.49] [00:00:21.64] - The truth will out. [00:00:24.30] - The story on how I met Prince was 1977, I think, right before his first album came out. My dad was in Carlos Santana's band. And he came back from the studio and said, there is this guy in the studio playing. He's really young. [00:00:44.10] He's like a kid, and he's playing all the instruments, and he's probably producing it. And they were all amazed. And his name was Prince. Like, this is crazy. We never heard of him before. [00:00:55.50] Next thing I know, I see him at an Al Jarreau concert. And I'm listening to Al Jarreau right here, and then I turn and look, and I saw him, and I'm like, oh my god. He is fine in person. I mean, of course, but that's really what I was saying. And I couldn't believe it. [00:01:14.85] And he just stared at me, and I stared at him. And I'm like, hi. And he's saying, hi. Over Al Jarreau playing, like, no one else existed, and we just looked into each other's eyes. [00:01:26.12] And then the next time I really met him in person to say hello and introduce myself, he performed at a theater called, Circle Star Theater, in San Francisco. And I heard that he was in town his first time performing. So I was like, we gotta go see him. So I went backstage to meet him. And I pulled the curtain open, and he was in the mirror, combing his hair. [00:01:47.89] And he saw me coming, and he turned around, and I said, hi. I said, I finally get to meet you. I just want to introduce myself. And he goes, he put his hand out, he said, I know who you are already. And I was like, oh. He said, I've been following your career with Joyce Duke, and I saw you on "Midnight Special," and I saw you-- he started naming all these television shows that we performed on. [00:02:07.09] And I said, oh, well, thank you. Nice to meet. I said, god, I love your music. And he said, how much do you make? I mean, he just cut to, how much do you make with George Duke? [00:02:16.68] I'm like, I don't even know what it was, but I just told him. He said, oh. I'll never be able to afford you. And he just put his head down. I was like, no. I said, you know, things change. Don't worry about it. [00:02:28.06] Anyway, we started talking. We traded numbers. And he started coming to the Bay to visit me like every weekend just about, or every couple of days, and I just show him all of the Bay area as much as I could show him, you know. And then introduced him to my family, and had him to come and watch the Escovedo's play Latin jazz music. [00:02:51.66] [MUSIC PLAYING] [00:02:54.66] He was completely blown away by not just the music, because he had never heard it before, but the ability for me to be able to play wit...
About the Instructor
Raised in a family of musicians, Sheila E. has collaborated with icons like Marvin Gaye and Ringo Starr and was named one of the all-time greatest drummers by Rolling Stone. Now she teaches you how to find your rhythm. Learn the principles of percussion—with or without a drum set—and discover techniques for dynamic solos and fills. Jam with the Escovedo family and find your own groove, as a beginner or as a bandleader.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Sheila E.
Legendary drummer Sheila E. welcomes you to the world of percussion and teaches you how to express yourself through rhythm.
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