Lydia Pense

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Lydia Pense and Cold Blood
Origin	San Francisco, California
Country	United States
Years active	1969–present
Genres	Rock, Urban contemporary, Blue-eyed soul
Labels	Reprise (1972); Warner Bros. Records (1974); ABC (1976); Dig Music (2005)

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.

After her 1967 solo album Lydia, she 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.