Sass Jordan, Canadian rock singer-songwriter, dies aged 65

Musician who had hit albums with Racine and Rats later became a judge on six seasons of Canadian Idol

Sass Jordan, the singer-songwriter who became a significant success in Canada’s rock scene in the 1990s before starring as a judge on Canadian Idol, has died aged 65.

Born in Birmingham, England, in 1960, Jordan moved to Montreal as a child when her French academic father took a position at the city’s Concordia University. She began performing in her teens, and by her 20s was recording with a range of Montreal acts: she wrote a song for singer Michael Breen that became a Canadian Top 40 hit.

Her 1992 album Racine contained four Canadian Top 20 hits and, coupled with a move to Los Angeles, a new label in RCA, and an appearance on the bestselling soundtrack to The Bodyguard broke Jordan into a wider US market. Sun’s Gonna Rise, from 1994 album Rats, became her only US Hot 100 hit, and her biggest hit in Canada, reaching No 7. Taylor Hawkins, later the drummer for Foo Fighters, was her live drummer during this period.

She later embraced a bluesier sound, with 2020 album Rebel Moon Blues reaching the top five of the US blues chart, followed by her most recent studio recording, 2022’s Bitches Blues.