She’s known as one of the greatest percussionists of all time, someone who can ignite a unique, relentless groove for any number of artists. But Sheila E. also carved out a path in the 80s as a pop hitmaker.
Prince aided her in that quest by lending his songwriting, instrumental, and production skills. The two came up with the funky, salacious “A Love Bizarre” in 1985, a No. 11 single that now stands as one of her signature songs.
Oh Sheila
An Oakland native, Sheila Escovedo grew up with rhythm percolating all around her. Her father Pete was a percussionist. She joined her dad for some late-70s albums, all while building her reputation as an ace session percussionist.
But Escovedo was more than just a percussionist. She also flashed singing and songwriting skills. Early in her professional journey, she met Prince, who eventually helped her to get her own recording deal at Warner Bros. And, as he did with many of the acts that he oversaw, Prince was heavily involved with Sheila E.’s records.
She broke out in 1984 with the smash debut single “The Glamorous Life”, which Prince wrote and co-produced. Her album of the same name also sold well. In the meantime, Sheila joined Prince on his monumental Purple Rain tour. That’s when the two created “A Love Bizarre”.
“Bizarre” Events
With very little time between tour dates, Sheila E. and Prince worked whenever and wherever they had the opportunity to craft songs for her next record. They wrote “A Love Bizarre” on a tour bus and tracked the song at an Atlanta studio while preparing to play a show there.
But even though they were in a bit of a hurry, the two didn’t sell the song short. In the studio, Prince, who played guitars and keyboards, and Escovedo, who handled the percussion parts, let the song luxuriate over 12 minutes of running time. Slinky saxophone parts from Eddie M. added the icing on the cake.
Sheila benefited from a nice marketing opportunity to help the song up the charts. Shortly before the song debuted as a single in November 1985, she performed it in the seminal hip-hop film Krush Groove. “A Love Bizarre” boasted the performance of her 1985 album Romance 1600.
Behind the Lyrics of “A Love Bizarre”
The lyrics for “A Love Bizarre” suggest that going off the beaten path can turn up the heat in a relationship. After noting the moon above, Sheila and Prince, who basically duet on the song, note that it’s “Whispering words/That scream of outrageous sin.”
Paraphrasing Shakespeare about the “stuff that’s found in our wildest dreams,” they then suggest that spontaneous passion is a fiery option: “It gets kinda rough/In the back of our limousine.” Later, they speak of forbidden pleasures. “A kiss on the spine,” they sing. “We do things we never do.”
The point that the pair are making seems to be that no one need be ashamed of how they happen to express and fulfill their desires. “That’s what we are,” Sheila E. sings. “We all want a love bizarre.” In 1985, pop fans certainly wanted this killer track from two superstars.
Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
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