Jeffrey Osborne and Sheila E.

Osborne was born in Providence, Rhode Island, US to a very large and musical family. He is the youngest of 12 children (a sibling to 6 sisters and 5 brothers). Several of his brothers and sisters also pursued careers as musicians, one of them being his older brother Billy who was his fellow bandmate in L.T.D and is now a L.A. based producer/songwriter. Jeffrey’s oldest brother Clay Osborne is a professional pianist and vocalist.

Though Jeffrey’s father died when he was only 13 years old he inherited his strong skill and passion for music from him. Clarence “Legs” Osbourne was a jazz trumpet player whose past collaborators include Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton. Jeffrey’s father often sacrificed many important stints as a musician to be with his family and always encouraged his children's aspirations.

Jeffrey joined the group L.T.D. as the drummer and moved out to Los Angeles with them when he was in his early teens. While he was out in L.A. he also sat in as the drummer for the O’Jays when the band’s official drummer did not feel up to playing.

Jeffrey eventually filled in as the lead singer for L.T.D. and led the group to success with a string of hit R&B albums throughout the 70s and early 80s. Two of the band’s albums, 1977s “Something to Love” and 1979s “Devotion” were certified Gold and reached No.1 and No.5 on the US R&B charts consecutively. Their 1978 album “Togetherness” went Platinum and debuted at No.3 on the US R&B charts.

Osborne put out his self-titled debut album in 1982 and scored two top 40 hits on the pop charts with “On Wings of Love” and “I Really Don’t Need No Light”. His next release “Stay with Me Tonight” proved to be an even bigger success reaching Gold status and going on to claim Platinum certification. This album was well-received both in the US and the UK, with it’s single “Stay with Me Tonight” climbing to No. 18 on the UK charts.

In 1985 Osborne co-wrote the Whitney Houston single “All at Once”, which appeared on her monumental self-titled debut. That same year he contributed to the USA for Africa campaign, collaborating on the song “We Are the World”.

Throughout Osborne’s career he has recorded a total of 5 albums that went either Gold or Platinum. In 1990 he signed on with record label Artista and released the album “Only Human”. In 1997 Osborne released his Christmas album “Something Warm for Christmas” and two years later issued a greatest hits compilation entitled “Ultimate Collection”. During the 2000s Osborne entered into contracts with several independent labels and released albums such as 2000’s “That’s for Sure”, 2003’s “Music is Life”, 2005’s “From the Soul”, and 2013’s “A Time To Love”.

Born of Mexican and Creole descent to a percussion playing father Pete Escovedo, Sheila E. honed her singing and percussive skills from a early age playing in her father’s jazz-fusion band Azteca. The singer later appeared on two of Azteca’s albums, before appearing on jazz bassist Alphonso Johnson’s “Yesterday’s Dream” in 1976. Whilst continuing to perform with her father’s band, Sheila E. came to the attention of Prince who approached the singer at a concert in 1978. Prince subsequently mentored Sheila during his “Purple Rain” recording sessions and beyond, with Sheila later performing alongside the likes of George Duke, Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, and Diana Ross.

The singer went solo in 1984 with record label assistance from Prince, and released her debut album “Sheila E. In the Glamorous Life” in June 1984. Led by the Prince-penned No. 7 hit single “The Glamorous Life” and later “The Belle of St. Mark”, the album peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 and introduced the singer to a national audience. Sheila’s sophomore album “Romance 1600” arrived in 1985, showing the singer strongly identifying with the style and image of Prince, with the album’s biggest hit the Prince duet “A Love Bizarre”. The album earned a nomination for an American Music Award and two Grammy nominations for Best new Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Following a number of film appearance including in 1985's “Krush Groove” and 1987’s “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane”, the singer became the drummer for Prince’s backup band The New Power Generation.

In 1987 Sheila E. issued her self-titled third album, which peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard 200. Spawning the singles “Love On a Blue Train”, “Hold Me”, and “Koo Koo”, the album was followed by “Sex Cymbal” in 1991. With a notable latin influence, with funk and salsa embellishments, the singer tapped in to the sound of the time. Following the release, Sheila E. took a hiatus from releasing original material and played drums in Namie Amuro’s backup band, on Phil Colins’ cover of “True Colors”, and on Beyoncé’s “Work It Out”. In 2000 the singer returned to release the full-length “Writes of Passage” on Concord Records, followed by “Heaven” in 2001, after which she became the drummer for Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. The full-length “Sheila E ICON” arrived in 2013.