Lydia Pense (born Lydia Jane Pense in San Francisco, California on December 14, 1947) 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, the former Miss Ramos, was born in Madrid, Spain, while her father came from Nebraska, United States. While attending Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California at the age of 14, Pense started singing with a band called The Dimensions, with Guitarist Fred Tatman. She was a fan of Brenda Lee and was singing her songs, but the band, formed by Fred Tatman, Larry Hatch, Paul C Saenz, and Kerry Yates encouraged her to sing R&B in the style of James Brown, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Ray Charles.
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.
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