About Sass Jordan
Sass Jordan was born Sarah Jordan in Birmingham, England, on December 23, 1960, and grew up in Montreal. She was playing the city's clubs as a teenager, singing and playing bass in the band the Pinups.
Her debut album, "Tell Somebody," came out on Atlantic Records in 1988, and the next year she won the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist. "Racine" followed in 1992, with the single "Make You a Believer," and Billboard named her its top female rock artist of the year. That same year she sang "Trust in Me" with Joe Cocker on the soundtrack to "The Bodyguard." Over the years she toured with Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Van Halen.
In the 1990s a young drummer named Taylor Hawkins played in her touring band. "Sass taught me how to be in a rock and roll band and gave me my first rock and roll check," he said. When she joined Foo Fighters onstage in Toronto in 2015, Dave Grohl told the crowd: "If it weren't for Sass Jordan, Taylor Hawkins wouldn't be in Foo Fighters."
In 2001 she sang the role of Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical "Love, Janis" in New York, with music direction by Sam Andrew of Big Brother and the Holding Company. From 2003 to 2008 she was a judge on all six seasons of "Canadian Idol." In her later years she turned to the blues: "Rebel Moon Blues" reached No. 5 on Billboard's blues albums chart in 2020, and "Bitches Blues" followed in 2022.
She died on October 2, 2026, surrounded by her family, who remembered her as "an inimitable force of nature" and "an irreplaceable being of light and joy." She is survived by her husband, the musician Derek Sharp, and her daughter, Stella.
A Life in Time
- 1960: Born Sarah Jordan on December 23 in Birmingham, England
- 1988: Releases her debut album, "Tell Somebody," on Atlantic Records
- 1989: Wins the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist
- 1992: Releases "Racine"; Billboard names her its top female rock artist of the year
- 1992: Sings "Trust in Me" with Joe Cocker on the soundtrack to "The Bodyguard"
- 1994: Releases "Rats," the album she later called her favorite
- 2001: Sings the role of Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical "Love, Janis"
- 2003: Becomes a judge on "Canadian Idol," serving all six seasons through 2008
- 2015: Joins Foo Fighters onstage in Toronto
- 2020: "Rebel Moon Blues" reaches No. 5 on Billboard's blues albums chart
- 2026: Dies on October 2, surrounded by her family
Connected lives
- Taylor Hawkins · Her drummer · before Foo Fighters
- Janis Joplin · Sang her in "Love, Janis"
- Sam Andrew · Music director, "Love, Janis"
- Birmingham, England · Birthplace
- Derek Sharp · Her husband
- Montreal, Quebec · Where she grew up and started out
- Joe Cocker · Duet · "Trust in Me"