Canadian rock and blues singer Sass Jordan, the Juno Award-winning artist behind Racine and the hit “Make You a Believer,” has died at age 65, leaving behind a four-decade career that helped shape Canada’s rock music landscape.
Jordan died peacefully on Oct. 2, 2026, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement from her family. She was also widely known to Canadian television audiences as the only female judge on Canadian Idol, serving throughout the program’s six-season run.
Her family remembered Jordan as “an inimitable force of nature” and “an irreplaceable being of light and joy.”
From Montreal Clubs to Canadian Rock Success
Born Sarah Jordan on Dec. 23, 1960, in Birmingham, England, Jordan moved with her family to Montreal at age three after her father, French literature professor Albert Jordan, accepted a position at Concordia University.
Her early musical influences ranged from rock acts including Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest to soul and blues performers such as Al Green, Bonnie Raitt, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin.
Jordan began performing as a teenager in Montreal and eventually became the singer and bassist for local band The Pinups. Her recording career began in 1986 as co-lead vocalist on Bündock’s “Come On (Baby Tonight).”
Atlantic Records released her debut solo album, Tell Somebody, in 1988. Its title track reached No. 11 in Canada and helped establish Jordan nationally.
“They played the “Tell Somebody” video on Much Music a lot,” she recalled. “I remember going in two weeks from relative obscurity to being recognized as the girl in the video.”
Jordan won the 1989 Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist and later received Best Female Vocalist nominations in 1990, 1993 and 1995.
Racine and “Make You a Believer” Define Breakthrough Era
After relocating to Los Angeles in 1990, Jordan recorded Racine, released by MCA Records in 1992.
The album became the defining commercial release of her career, selling an estimated 450,000 copies worldwide, including 100,000 in Canada. Its songs included “Make You a Believer,” “I Want to Believe,” “You Don’t Have to Remind Me” and “Goin’ Back Again.”
“Make You a Believer” reached No. 11 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, while Billboard named Jordan its top female rock artist of 1992.
That year, she also recorded “Trust in Me” with Joe Cocker for The Bodyguard soundtrack. Jordan subsequently toured alongside major rock acts including Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Van Halen.
Taylor Hawkins Among Musicians Shaped by Jordan’s Career
A young Taylor Hawkins, who later became the drummer for Foo Fighters, played in Jordan’s touring band.
“Sass taught me how to be in a rock and roll band and gave me my first rock and roll check,” Hawkins said.
Jordan released Rats in 1994, an album she later identified as her favourite. It produced “High Road Easy,” which reached No. 9 in Canada, and “Sun’s Gonna Rise,” a No. 7 Canadian hit that also gave Jordan her first Billboard Hot 100 appearance.
Her subsequent releases included Present in 1997 and Hot Gossip in 2000.
Canadian Idol Introduced Jordan to a New Generation
Jordan expanded her profile beyond music in 2003 when she became a judge on Canadian Idol. She remained with the series for all six seasons, helping introduce her to a new generation of Canadian audiences and aspiring performers.
Her career also included acting and theatre, including portraying Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway production Love, Janis and appearing in Canadian productions of The Vagina Monologues.
Jordan later returned strongly to blues music. Rebel Moon Blues, released in 2020, debuted at No. 5 on Billboard’s Blues Albums chart.
“There’s been an undercurrent of blues throughout my whole career, the music that I have mostly been drawn to has always had that gritty, rootsy vein running through it, and that’s why I’m enjoying making these records so much,” she said at the time.
Her 10th and final studio album, Bitches Blues, followed in 2022 and reached No. 15 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.
A Lasting Legacy in Canadian Music
Beyond recording and touring, Jordan served as honorary colonel of 417 Combat Support Squadron from 2012 to 2016. She also ventured into Canadian beverage businesses through Rebel Moon Whiskey and Kick Ass Sass Wine, produced with Vineland Estates Winery in Ontario’s Niagara Region.
“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.”
Jordan is survived by her husband, musician Derek Sharp; daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp (Daniel Yepes); stepdaughter Brianne Sharp; and brother Daniel Jordan (Isabelle Courville).
Her family has requested privacy while grieving and thanked fans around the world for sharing in Jordan’s music throughout a career that made her one of the most recognizable voices in Canadian rock.