Canadian rock singer and Canadian Idol judge Sass Jordan dies at 65

Passing and announcement

Canadian rock singer and songwriter Sass Jordan died on 2 October 2026 at the age of 65, surrounded by her family. Her family and representative Eric Alper confirmed her death in a public statement, stating that she passed away peacefully. The family did not disclose an exact cause of death. The announcement followed Jordan's cancellation of her remaining 2026 tour dates in September, when her management announced that she was dealing with a serious medical condition. Jordan had built a recording and touring career spanning more than 35 years across rock, pop, and blues.

If you love music and you've been around as long as I have, you pretty much do what you got to do. But I love music. I am a huge, gigantic fan.

Early Montreal years and debut

Born Sarah Jordan on 23 December 1960 in Birmingham, England, she moved to Canada at age three when her father, Concordia University French literature professor Albert Jordan, relocated the family to Montreal alongside her mother, former ballerina Jean Lanceman. Jordan began singing in Montreal clubs at age 16 before becoming the lead singer and bass player for the local group The Pinups. During the mid-1980s, she worked as a prominent Montreal session singer, contributing vocals to Bündock's 1986 track Come On (Baby Tonight) and appearing in the music video for The Box's single Closer Together. In 1987, pop singer Michael Breen reached the Canadian charts with Jordan's composition Rain. She subsequently signed with Atlantic Records, releasing her debut solo album Tell Somebody in 1988. The record yielded two singles, the title track and Double Trouble, and earned her the 1989 Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist.

Breakthrough with Racine and touring

Jordan relocated to Los Angeles in January 1990 and signed with RCA Records to record her second album, Racine, released in March 1992. The album achieved widespread commercial success, selling an estimated 450,000 copies worldwide, including 100,000 copies in Canada, and spawning four Canadian top-twenty singles. Its lead single, Make You a Believer, reached number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, prompting Billboard to name Jordan the Top Female Rock Artist of 1992. That same year, she performed a duet with Joe Cocker on the track Trust in Me for the soundtrack to the film The Bodyguard. Her 1994 follow-up album Rats featured the single Sun's Gonna Rise, which reached number seven in Canada and became her sole entry on the Billboard Hot 100. During the tour supporting Rats, a young Taylor Hawkins served as her live drummer before later joining Foo Fighters. Jordan also completed tours supporting rock bands including the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Van Halen.

Television, theatre, and blues recordings

In 2001, Jordan starred as singer Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway theatrical production Love, Janis. Two years later, in 2003, she joined the judging panel of the reality singing competition Canadian Idol, serving as the only female judge across all six seasons until the broadcast ended in 2008. She returned to recording original music with the 2006 album You Get What You Give, followed by a transition into traditional blues recordings. Her 2020 record Rebel Moon Blues reached the top five on the US Billboard Blues Albums chart, followed by the 2022 album Bitches Blues. Jordan is survived by her husband Derek Sharp, daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp, stepdaughter Brianne Sharp, and brother Daniel Jordan.