As a drummer, you're only as good as the company you keep.

And when I think about great drummers, I never think of them in a vacuum.

I think about Elvin Jones with John Coltrane, Tony Williams with Miles,

John Bonham with Led Zeppelin, Mitch Mitchell with Hendricks, and Sheila E. with Prince.

I've already been lucky enough to speak with lots of my heroes.

In the last year or so, you know, I've recorded about a hundred of these.

And if you would have asked me yesterday morning who my dream guests are,

at the top of that list would have been Prince,

who in addition to being the towering creative genius of his generation was also a phenomenal drummer.

And although now I know I'll never have an opportunity to speak with him,

I feel honored to have had the opportunity to speak with one of Prince's closest collaborators

and a phenomenal artist in her own right, Sheila E.

This is Joe Wong. Welcome to the Trap Set, where each week we explore the lives of drummers.

I want to play something for you.

She wears a long full coat of me, even in the summertime. You're hearing the glamorous life by my

Even in the summertime

You're hearing the glamorous life by my guest And E. This track hit number one on the dance charts in

1984 and catapulted Sheila to international pop stardom. It was one in a string of collaborations

with Prince, who co-wrote or produced much of Sheila's material during this time. But while

this era of Sheila's career may be her best known, she was an accomplished

artist in her own right long before she ever encountered the Purple One.

It ain't much.

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