Emerging in the Summer of Love, Cold Blood with Joplin-esque lead singer Lydia Pense frequently played the Fillmore Auditorium, and the San Francisco-based funk band's blaring horn section and soulful guitar licks often drew comparisons to their Bay Area cronies, the Tower of Power. The band was signed by Bill Graham to his San Francisco Records label in 1969 and released a self-titled debut album in the same year. Over the next five years, four more albums followed, allowing for a continuous touring schedule but never selling enough albums for Cold Blood to reach superstardom status.