Canadian Rock and Blues Belter Sass Jordan Dies
Singer, songwriter, Juno Award winner and longtime Canadian Idol judge Sass Jordan died peacefully on October 2, 2026, surrounded by those who loved her most, her family announced. They remembered her as “an inimitable force of nature” and “an irreplaceable being of light and joy.” Over four decades, she gave Canadian rock one of its most recognisable voices and carved out space for women in a genre long dominated by men.
Born in Birmingham, England, to a French literature professor and a former ballerina, Jordan moved to Montreal with her family as a small child. Classical music filled the house, so hearing The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” on the radio felt like a revelation. Her first concert, David Bowie on the Diamond Dogs Tour, settled what she would do with her life. By 16 she was fronting bands in downtown Montreal clubs, later becoming singer and bassist for The Pinups.
Her 1988 solo debut, “Tell Somebody,” took its title track to #11 in Canada, and the following year she won the Juno for Most Promising Female Vocalist. Her 1992 album “Racine” became the defining record of her career, selling an estimated 450,000 copies worldwide. “Make You a Believer” reached #11 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, and Billboard named her its top female rock artist of 1992. She also recorded the duet “Trust in Me” for “The Bodyguard” soundtrack with Joe Cocker and toured with Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, and Van Halen.
Her touring drummer was a 22-year-old Taylor Hawkins, later of Foo Fighters, who said she taught him how to be in a rock and roll band and gave him his first rock and roll check. In 2015, she joined the Foo Fighters onstage in Toronto for “Stay With Me.”
From 2003 she was the only woman on the Canadian Idol panel, staying for all six seasons. Later she turned to the blues: “Rebel Moon Blues” (2020) debuted at #5 on Billboard’s Blues Albums chart, and “Bitches Blues” (2022) was her tenth and final studio album. “There’s been an undercurrent of blues throughout my whole career,” she said at the time.
She is survived by her husband, musician Derek Sharp; daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp; stepdaughter Brianne Sharp; and brother Daniel Jordan. The family asks for privacy and thanks fans around the world.
Sass Jordan was 65.
