Canadian Rock Singer and Former Idol Judge Sass Jordan Dies at 65

Sass Jordan, the acclaimed Canadian rock singer-songwriter and former television judge, has died at the age of 65. Her family announced her passing on social media, confirming she died on October 2 surrounded by loved ones, though no official cause of death was immediately released. In September, the artist had canceled scheduled tour dates after disclosing that she was facing a serious medical condition.\n\nIn their public statement, Jordan's family honored her memory, describing her as "an inimitable force of nature" and "an irreplaceable being of light and joy." Throughout her decades-long career, Jordan secured a major presence in North American rock. Her breakthrough 1988 debut album, 'Tell Somebody', produced two major Canadian singles and earned her the 1989 Juno Award for most promising female vocalist, cementing her status in the country's music industry.\n\nBorn in Birmingham, England, in 1960, Jordan relocated to Montreal during childhood when her father secured an academic post at Concordia University. Her commercial peak arrived with the 1992 album 'Racine', which generated four Canadian Top 20 singles. Her 1994 track 'Sun’s Gonna Rise' from the album 'Rats' reached number seven in Canada and marked her sole entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, featuring future Foo Fighters member Taylor Hawkins as her live drummer during that era.\n\nBeyond studio recordings and appearances on major releases like 'The Bodyguard' soundtrack, Jordan gained widespread national prominence in Canada as a judge across all six seasons of the reality competition show 'Canadian Idol'. She also portrayed Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway production 'Love, Janis' before pivoting to the blues genre in her later years, achieving top-five recognition on the US blues chart with her 2020 album 'Rebel Moon Blues' and her final 2022 studio effort, 'Bitches Blues'.