Sass Jordan, the singer-songwriter who became a major figure in Canadian rock in the 1990s and later served as a judge on Canadian Idol, has died at the age of 65. No cause of death was announced.
A statement shared on social media said she died on 2 October “surrounded by her loving family.” It described her as “an inimitable force of nature” and “an irreplaceable being of light and joy.”
Born in Birmingham, England, in 1960, Jordan moved to Montreal as a child after her father, a French academic, took a position at Concordia University. She began performing as a teenager, and by her twenties was recording with various Montreal acts. She also wrote a song for singer Michael Breen that became a Canadian Top 40 hit.
In 1988, she signed with Atlantic Records and released her debut album, Tell Somebody. Its singles — the title track and “Double Trouble” — charted just outside the Canadian Top 10. The following year, she won a Juno Award for most promising female vocalist.
Her 1992 album Racine produced four Canadian Top 20 hits. Around that time, she moved to Los Angeles, signed with RCA, and appeared on the bestselling The Bodyguard soundtrack, helping her reach a wider US audience. “Sun’s Gonna Rise,” from her 1994 album Rats, became her only US Hot 100 hit and her biggest Canadian hit, reaching No. 7. Taylor Hawkins, who later drummed for Foo Fighters, played in her live band during this period.
After her RCA deal ended, Jordan expressed disappointment with the glossy sound of her next few albums. Her career later received a boost from six seasons as a judge on the TV talent show Canadian Idol, and she returned to recording with 2006’s You Get What You Give. In 2001, she also portrayed Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis.
In later years, she embraced a bluesier style. Her 2020 album Rebel Moon Blues reached the top five of the US blues chart, followed by her most recent studio album, 2022’s Bitches Blues.
In September, Jordan cancelled tour dates, citing “a serious medical condition.”