Retro Video of the Week: "The Glamorous Life" by Sheila E.

Tuesday was the 40th anniversary of the release of Prince protégé and percussionist Sheila E.'s debut album, Sheila E. in The Glamorous Life.  In the '70s and early '80s, Sheila was a percussionist in jazz/funk artist George Duke's band, and she had also recorded and performed with various other artists, including Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, Lionel Richie, and Diana Ross.

She met Prince in 1977, and eventually she collaborated with the Purple One in various capacities, including touring with Prince as his percussionist and acting as his musical director for tours in the late '80s.  If you've seen the fantastic documentary released earlier this year about the making of "We Are The World" -- The Greatest Night in Pop -- you know that Sheila was part of the ensemble, but it was clear that she was asked to participate in large part because of the producers' hopes that she could get Prince to participate, which never happened.

Anywho, all the tracks on Sheila E. in The Glamorous Life were written or co-written by Prince, and he produced the album under the pseudonym The Starr ★ Company.  The album peaked at #28 on the Billboard album chart and #7 on the Billboard R&B album chart.  

The song "The Glamorous Life" was the first single released from the album, and it's a funky pop song, complete with horns and hypnotic percussion. It proved to be Sheila's biggest solo hit, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Tracks chart, #9 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart, and Top 5 on the pop charts in Belgium, Canada, and The Netherlands.  The song also earned Sheila two Grammy nominations, and the video garnered three MTV VMA nominations.