Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Sheila E., also known as Sheila Escovedo, has lived "The Glamorous Life." She caught the eye of Prince in the late '70s, played her heart out on the drums and timbales, launched a solo singing career and became a fierce, world-class drummer and percussionist.

She's worked alongside some of the best in the business, including Ringo Starr, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Beyoncé, Herbie Hancock, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Gloria Estefan and George Duke. An actress, mentor, and philanthropist through her Elevate Hope Foundation, Sheila E. is the daughter of the famous Latin jazz musician Pete Escovedo, the goddaughter of the legendary Latin jazz composer Tito Puente and the aunt of Lionel Richie's daughter-turned-reality TV celebrity and fashionista Nicole Richie.

Needless to say, the Oakland, California native has indeed led a fascinating existence -- and she's sharing her story with her fans with the release of her memoir "The Beat of My Own Drum."

During a book signing and Q&A on Sept. 2 in New York City, the talented musician, who is soft spoken and humble, generously answered as many questions as she could, giving her longtime fans some insight into her rhythmic and sometimes rocky world. As she answered questions, she gently tapped her hands on the podium, creating her own beat as she spoke.

Longtime fans will be happy to hear that "The Beat of My Own Drum" reveals some juicy details about Sheila E.'s engagement to Prince, as well as her romantic relationship with Carlos Santana.

"No one knew that, he [Santana] was my first love," she said in an earlier interview.

Would Sheila E. ever collaborate with Prince again?

"That's not in the book," she said as the audience laughed. "No, I don't know ... wherever God puts me is where I go."

She recalled playing for The Beatles' iconic drummer, Ringo Starr. While she never normally practiced before performances, she changed he ways for Ringo, wanting to prove that she could play rock n' roll as well any other genres. "I wanted to prove I could do anything," she added -- and Starr was indeed impressed by her talent, commending her at the end of the tour.

When asked who she would want to portray her in a Hollywood biopic (reportedly in talks two years ago), she said she had two candidates in mind but didn't reveal any names. A few fans in the audience yelled out Jennifer Lopez, Esperanza Spaulding and Rihanna, but Sheila E. just smiled.

A fan, who could play the part if given the chance, was welcomed by Sheila E. to get up and show off her vocal chops to the crowd.

"[That] right now stood out," Sheila E. said after the impromptu performance. "I mean, every day is special. Today is ... music or not, is special today. This is really exciting, I get to share. I get to mentor. Look at that, that was awesome, that's special, so this very moment right now means a lot to me."

In addition to her September 2014 autobiography, Sheila E. released her first album in 13 years, titled "Icon" (Stilettoflats Music). Her first single is "Mona Lisa."

"The idea to record another solo album was actually spawned while I was writing the autobiography," recalled Sheila E. in her official bio. "I realized that some of the experiences I was writing about should be songs. That's when I also began looking back at songs I'd written several years earlier and forgotten about, but whose themes needed to be talked about in the book. Both fed each other."

While she loves both past and current artists, when asked who she enjoys listening to today she said Bruno Mars and Garth Brooks.

"[Mars is] pretty awesome, and he loves playing live. He's old-school in that way," she said.

She recalled her early days in the music biz when her record label tried to box her into just one genre.

"They wouldn't allow me to play the different genres of music on my record. It had to be one type of music and that was it, and I said 'But that's not the kind of artist that I am,'" she explained. "I am everything. To me, I play all of the types of music because that's what I grew up listening to. So now that I started my own record label [Heaven Productions Music], I can do that."

The music biz is tough, and Sheila E. knows that firsthand, admitting that she took part in some clever ways to get her record noticed -- long before the days of iTunes and social media.

"Every time I went to the record store, I would go and try to find my CD ... and if they weren't in the front, I would switch the whole bin. So E might be up in A and it was not supposed to be there, so I would push my records to the top," she admitted with a chuckle.

With a packed house during her Q&A and book signing, it doesn't look like Sheila E. will be needing to put her book or her album on the top of the stack anymore.

Check out Sheila E. back in the day jamming out with her dad, Pete Escovedo and her godfather, Tito Puente. Talk about a talented Latino family!