Sass Jordan, Singer and Longtime ‘Canadian Idol’ Judge, Dies at 65

Sass Jordan, the singer, songwriter and longtime “Canadian Idol” judge, died on Oct. 2. She was 65.

Her family confirmed her death, noting that she “died peacefully” and was “surrounded by those who loved her most.” They remembered her as “an inimitable force of nature” and “an irreplaceable being of light and joy.”

Jordan began her recording career in 1986 as co-lead vocalist on “Come On (Baby Tonight)” from Bündock’s album “Mauve.” She quickly became a sought-after session singer in Montreal, most notably on The Box’s breakthrough “L’Affaire Dumoutier (Say To Me…)”, and appeared in the band’s video for “Closer Together.”

She was also a prominent songwriter. Michael Breen took her composition “Rain” onto the Canadian charts in 1987.

In 1989, Jordan won the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year after her debut album, “Tell Somebody.”

After moving to Los Angeles in Jan. 1990, she released “Racine” in March 1992. It became the defining album of her career, selling an estimated 450,000 copies worldwide and 100,000 in Canada on the strength of “Make You a Believer,” “I Want to Believe,” “You Don’t Have to Remind Me” and “Goin’ Back Again,” with “Who Do You Think You Are” following in 1993.

“Make You a Believer” climbed to #11 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, and Billboard named her its top female rock artist of 1992.

She joined “Canadian Idol” as a judge in 2003, the only woman on the panel, and stayed for all six seasons. She continued performing and releasing music for two decades.

“If you love music and you’ve been around as long as I have, you pretty much do what you got to do,” Jordan once said. “But I love music. I am a huge, gigantic fan.”

Born Sarah Jordan on Dec. 23, 1960, in Birmingham, England, she was the daughter of French literature professor Albert Jordan and former English ballerina Jean Lanceman. She began singing with friends at a young age and, by 16, was fronting bands in downtown Montreal clubs; later, she became singer and bassist for local favorites The Pinups.

She is survived by her husband, Derek Sharp, daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp (Daniel Yepes), stepdaughter Brianne Sharp and brother Daniel Jordan (Isabelle Courville).