Lydia Pense is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

who, since 1969, has performed with the band Cold Blood. Critics have compared her style to powerful singers including

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

History

Lydia Pense was born in San Francisco, California. Her family moved to

Redwood City Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in the Bay Area of Northern California, approximately south of San Francisco and northwest of San Jose. The city's population was 84,292 according to the 2020 census. The Port of Redwo ...

when she was 10. At age 14, while attending Sequoia High School, Pense started singing with a band called the Dimensions, with guitarist Fred Tatman, Larry Hatch, and Kerry Yates. She was a fan of

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

and was singing her songs, but the band encouraged her to sing R&B in the style of James Brown, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Ray Charles. Janis Joplin had recommended Lydia Pense to music promoter Bill Graham to audition for the band Cold Blood. Lydia joined Cold Blood in 1968, and the band was one of the earliest music groups to be signed by Graham's Fillmore Records. The band Cold Blood separated in the late 1970s. Pense suspended her music career in the early 1980s to raise her daughter, Danielle before reforming the group in 1988. The band continues to record, tour and perform.

Discography

Their initial four albums, ''Cold Blood'', ''Sisyphus'', ''First Taste of Sin'' (produced by

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

), and ''Thriller'' remain the band's best-known work.

Albums

References

External links

Official site for Lydia Pense and Cold Blood
Living people American dance musicians American women singers American rhythm and blues singers Singers from San Francisco Jazz musicians from San Francisco People from Redwood City, California 21st-century American women Sequoia High School (Redwood City, California) alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-RnB-singer-stub