Sass Jordan

A raspy, powerful vocalist grounded in rock yet inclined toward the blues, Sass Jordan surfaced as an emerging hard rock prospect as the 1990s opened. Her 1992 second album Racine situated her near the Black Crowes through a robust, engaging style already beginning to feel dated amid alternative rock’s ascent. Although Jordan hovered at the edges of that shift by sharpening the sound of her 1994 album Rats and hiring Taylor Hawkins as drummer years before his tenures with Alanis Morissette or Foo Fighters, she soon embraced the role of a tireless road performer, reinforcing her Canadian fame via six seasons as a judge on Canadian Idol during the 2000s before moving deeper into blues territory, a progression that reached its peak with 2020’s Rebel Moon Blues and the 2022 sequel Bitches Blues while she maintained steady touring and recording.

Born in Birmingham, England on January 8, 1962, Sass Jordan’s family moved to Montreal, Quebec when she was three after her father accepted a professorship at Concordia University. In a home that prized classical music, Jordan gravitated toward rock and soul, with the Band serving as her particular entry point to further American sounds. As a teenager she picked up guitar and performed in groups, later switching to bass upon joining the Pinups. By her early twenties she worked as a session singer and professional songwriter, contributing “Rain” to Michael Breen’s self-titled 1987 album. Atlantic offered Jordan a contract shortly afterward.

Tell Somebody, Jordan’s first album, surfaced in Canada in 1988 and spawned the hit singles “Tell Somebody” and “Double Trouble.” The project earned her the Juno for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year and proved strong enough to prompt an American push with Racine. Cut in Los Angeles and issued in 1992 on MCA, the record aligned with the ’70s revival sparked by the Black Crowes, allowing Jordan to land “Make You a Believer” and “You Don’t Have to Remind Me” on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart; that performance prompted Billboard to name her Top Female Rock Artist of 1992. Also in 1992, Jordan joined the blockbuster soundtrack for The Bodyguard, duetting with Joe Cocker on “Trust in Me.”

Jordan sought a tougher direction on 1994’s Rats, an album tinged with alt-rock texture that she backed on tour with future Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins behind the kit. Although “High Road Easy” reached Billboard’s Mainstream Top Ten, the effort fell short commercially and MCA soon let her go. She signed with Aquarius Records for 1997’s Present, an album aimed at modern rock listeners. When neither Present nor the following Hot Gossip connected broadly, Jordan explored other outlets. In 2001 she portrayed Janis Joplin in an off-Broadway production of Love, Janis, which led to appearances in The Vagina Monologues in Winnipeg and Toronto. Stage work opened doors to television, first a part on the soap Sisters and then a judging role on Canadian Idol, the singing competition that debuted in 2003. Jordan remained through the show’s six-season run, which in turn boosted her recording visibility. She resurfaced in 2006 with Get What You Give, featuring contributions from E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent and Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed. The album was followed in 2009 by From Dusk ’Til Dawn, produced by her husband Derek Sharp. Two years later she teamed with Tommy Stewart, Brian Tichy, and Michael Devin in the band S.U.N.: Something Unto Nothing, reclaiming the hard-edged approach of Rats.

Jordan celebrated the 25th anniversary of Racine in 2017 by issuing Racine Revisited, a fresh recording of the 1992 breakthrough. After taking part in Mike Garson’s A Bowie Celebration: The David Bowie Alumni Tour in 2019, she turned squarely to blues on 2020’s Rebel Moon Blues, her debut for Stony Plain Records, which entered the Billboard Blues Album Chart at number five. She quickly delivered another blues collection, Bitches Blues, in 2022.