Lydia Pense

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Lydia Pense and Cold Blood
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Origin = San Francisco, California
Genre = Rock, Urban contemporary, Blue-eyed soul
Years_active = 1969–present
Label = Reprise (1972); Warner Bros. Records (1974); ABC (1976); Dig Music (2005)
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Lydia Pense (b. 1948) is an American rock-soul-jazz singer who since 1969 has performed with the band Cold Blood. Her style has been compared to powerful singers including Janis Joplin (who recommended the band to Bill Graham for their first audition), Aretha Franklin and Teena Marie.

Pense's mother was born in Madrid, Spain, while her father came from Nebraska, United States. While attending school in San Mateo, California at the age of 16, Pense started singing with a band called "The Dimensions". They initially played Big Band songs, but she soon was attracted to the music of Ray Charles and Chuck Berry.

Lydia joined "Cold Blood" in 1968.

Their initial four albums, "Cold Blood", "Sisyphus", "First Taste of Sin" (produced by Donny Hathaway), and "Thriller" remain their best known work. The band continues to record and perform today. The band separated in the late 1970s and Pense suspended her career in the 1980s to raise her daughter before re-forming the group.

Discography

Albums

*"Cold Blood" (1968)
*"Sisyphus" (1969)
*"First Taste of Sin" (1972)
*"Thriller" (1973)
*"Lydia" (1974)
*"The Best of Cold Blood" (1975)
*"Vintage Blood: Live! 1973" (live album), 2001
*"Transfusion" (2005)

See also

Cold Blood

References

* [http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist1/rock.html Chronology of San Francisco Rock in the late 1960s]

External links

* [http://www.coldblood.biz// Official site for Lydia Pense and Cold Blood]