Sass Jordan

Complete Timeline

• 1962

  Born in Birmingham, EnglandOrigin

  Sarah "Sass" Jordan is born December 23, 1962 in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. Her father Albert Jordan is a French literary professor; her mother Jean Lanceman is a former English ballerina. The family relocates to France briefly — her brother is born there — before her father accepts a position at Concordia University in Montreal. The family moves to Westmount, Quebec when Sass is three years old. She is nicknamed "Sass" her entire life: "I've been called Sass my whole life. I don't like hearing Sarah from people. That's like calling me Penelope!"

• ~1969

  First Rock Song — The Band Changes EverythingOrigin

  At age seven, Sass and her brother are playing with the dial on their parents' radio — a household that only played classical music — when they discover they can change the station. The first rock song she hears is The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (1969). She later describes it as a "revelation." It is the moment that sets her life's direction. Her musical influences expand to include Rod Stewart, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, Tears for Fears, Anthrax, and soul singers Al Green and Aretha Franklin.

• Mid-teens

  On Her Own at 14 — The Pinups, WestmountEarly Career

  When her parents separate, Sass sets out on her own at age 14. She regularly sings and plays guitar with friends in Westmount Park. By 16, she is performing with bands at clubs in downtown Montreal, eventually becoming vocalist and bassist for a high-profile local band called The Pinups — playing new wave material from Blondie, the Police, and others. "In the late '70s I was in a band called The Pin Ups and we played lots of new wave stuff like Blondie and the Police." Despite being underage, she is a fixture on the Montreal club circuit.

• 1986

  Recording Debut — Bündock's MauveFirst Recording

  Jordan makes her first documented studio appearance as co-lead vocalist on the song "Come On (Baby Tonight)" from the album Mauve by Montréal band Bündock. Around the same time, local acts begin recording songs Jordan has written — including the Canadian hit single "Rain" by Michael Breen, which appears on his 1987 self-titled album. She also appears as a vocalist in the music video for The Box's "Closer Together," though the vocals on the recording were by Martine St. Clair.

• Late 1980s

  The Box, Artist Development, and Atlantic RecordsPre-Debut

  Jordan hears that Montreal pop group The Box is looking for a backup singer and joins them, gaining profile and visibility in the local scene. She is simultaneously signed to an artist development deal — "It was called artist development in those days. It was awesome it existed — I got a little money to pay my rent while developing the album." Atlantic Records signs her as a solo artist. "I had been doing this for almost 15 years at that point" — by the time stardom arrives, it is the result of a decade and a half of dues-paying.

• Dec 1988

  Tell Somebody — Debut Album, PlatinumAlbumJuno

  Released December 1988 on Atlantic Records. Recorded in a small studio in Old Montreal. Certified Platinum in Canada. Singles: "Tell Somebody", "Double Trouble", "Stranger Than Paradise", and "Lost Weekend." The debut video goes into heavy rotation on MuchMusic within one week: "Within one week I became so well-known I couldn't go anywhere without being accosted."

  Also in 1988–89: Jordan covers Fontella Bass's 1965 classic "Rescue Me" for the soundtrack of the Canadian film American Boyfriends. It charts at #44 on Canada's RPM Top Singles.

• 1989

  Juno Award — Most Promising Female VocalistJuno

  Jordan wins the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist for "Tell Somebody" — her first of four career Juno Awards. She will earn three further nominations for Best Female Vocalist over the following decade. The award marks her as the most important new female voice in Canadian rock.

• 1990

  Relocates to Los AngelesTurning Point

  Inspired by the success of Tell Somebody and eager to break the US market, Jordan relocates to Los Angeles. During her time in LA she becomes friends with Eddie Van Halen, who lives down the street. She is a regular at Van Halen rehearsals and the two jam frequently. Unbeknownst to Jordan, Van Halen is quietly searching for a new lead vocalist at the time. When the topic surfaces in conversation, Jordan shuts it down immediately: "having a female vocalist would be the worst career move that Van Halen could make."

• 1992

  Racine — Breakthrough, 4 Top-20 Canadian SinglesAlbumHit

  Released 1992 on MCA/Impact. Certified Platinum in Canada (100,000+ copies). The album title is the French word for "roots" — and also the name of the Eastern Townships village near Montreal where Jordan spent summers as a child. Four Top-20 Canadian singles: "Make You A Believer" (Billboard Mainstream Rock chart), "I Want to Believe" (Billboard Mainstream Rock), "You Don't Have to Remind Me", and "Goin' Back Again."

  "When I was making Racine it was a huge big deal to me because I was so deeply involved in writing every single song and going back to my real roots as a singer — Rod Stewart, mixed with Stones, Led Zeppelin, add in some Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, then Chaka Khan and especially Aretha Franklin."

  Racine leads to touring with Aerosmith and earns Jordan serious profile in the US market.

• 1992

  "Trust In Me" with Joe Cocker — The Bodyguard SoundtrackCollaboration

  Jordan records the duet "Trust In Me" with Joe Cocker for the motion picture The Bodyguard — the same soundtrack that contains Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," one of the best-selling soundtracks in history. The duet introduces Jordan's voice to an enormous international audience.

• 1994

  Rats — First US Hot 100 Entry, Taylor Hawkins on DrumsAlbumMilestone

  Released 1994. A harder-edged alt-rock album. Yields Jordan's first Billboard Hot 100 entry with "Sun's Gonna Rise", and also features "High Road Easy." A 22-year-old Taylor Hawkins plays drums on the Rats tour — long before he drums for Alanis Morissette or joins Foo Fighters. Jordan later says of Hawkins: "Sass taught me how to be in a rock and roll band and gave me my first rock and roll check" — Hawkins' own words about what the experience meant to him.

  The Rats touring band also features guitarist Stevie Salas (guitarist for Rod Stewart, George Clinton) and bassist Tony Reyes.

• 1997

  PresentAlbum

  Released 1997. MCA drops Jordan shortly after release due to commercial underperformance. The album shifts in a harder direction but fails to find the same audience as Racine. Jordan continues touring through the late 1990s.

• 2000

  Hot GossipAlbum

  Released 2000. Along with Present, Hot Gossip represents a period where Jordan moves toward a more mainstream pop sound — a direction that commercially underperforms and that Jordan later steps back from. A six-year gap follows before the next studio album. During the hiatus, Jordan works on a range of other projects.

• 2001

  Plays Janis Joplin in Love, JanisTheatre

  Jordan plays the lead role of Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway theatrical production Love, Janis — a role for which her raspy, powerful blues-rock voice is almost uniquely qualified. The production runs in multiple cities. She also guest stars on NBC's Sisters and performs in the Toronto and Winnipeg productions of The Vagina Monologues.

• 2003

  Canadian Idol Judge · SARS Concert with the Rolling StonesTVMilestone

  Jordan becomes a judge on Canadian Idol — the Canadian version of American Idol — and remains a judge for the show's entire six-season run. Due to her warm, easygoing manner she is often compared to Paula Abdul. Her fellow judge is Jake Gold, former manager of The Tragically Hip, who takes over as Jordan's manager and engineers her recording comeback.

  That same summer, Jordan shares the stage with The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, Justin Timberlake and others at the massive SARS benefit concert at Downsview Park in Toronto — attended by over 450,000 people, one of the largest concerts in North American history.

  Also in 2003: Aquarius Records releases the greatest hits compilation Sass... Best of Sass Jordan, featuring two new songs including the single "Brand New Day."

• 2006

  Get What You Give — Return to RootsAlbum

  Produced by Colin Linden (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings). Features support from Garry Tallent of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and Audley Freed of the Black Crowes. A deliberate return to Jordan's blues-rock roots after the pop detour of Present and Hot Gossip. Jake Gold's management steers the record back toward the core audience that loved Racine and Rats.

• Jul 9, 2015

  Reunites with Taylor Hawkins — Foo Fighters, TorontoMilestone

  Jordan joins Foo Fighters on stage at their Toronto concert to perform a cover of "Stay With Me" by The Faces — reuniting with Taylor Hawkins more than 20 years after the Rats tour. Hawkins had said of Jordan: "Sass taught me how to be in a rock and roll band and gave me my first rock and roll check." It is one of the most celebrated moments of Jordan's live career.

• 2009

  From Dusk 'Til DawnAlbum

  Produced by Jordan's husband Derek Sharp — lead vocalist of The Guess Who. Recorded in three weeks, mixed in Los Angeles. Released on Kindling Music. "I was thinking about how human beings seem to be more sensitive and worried about things from sunset to sunrise. When you're alone is when the fear of death really hits you, and I was trying to write songs that were related to the fears of the middle of the night." Includes a cover of John Fogerty's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain."

• 2011

  S.U.N.: Something Unto NothingAlbumSide Project

  A studio supergroup project — Jordan reunites with drummer Brian Tichy at his Santa Clarita home studio. The lineup is Jordan, Tichy, Michael Devin and Tommy Stewart of Whitesnake. The album is a return to the flinty, hard rock sound of Rats. Recorded at Tichy's home studio in Santa Clarita, California. A cult favourite among Jordan's hardcore fanbase.

• 2012

  Honorary Colonel — 417 Combat Support SquadronHonour

  The Royal Canadian Air Force appoints Jordan Honorary Colonel of 417 Combat Support Squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta — one of the highest non-military honours the RCAF bestows on civilians. Her songs have already been featured on Melrose Place, Party of Five, Baywatch, Flashpoint, and Knight Rider.

• 2017

  Racine Revisited — 25th AnniversaryAlbum

  To mark the 25th anniversary of her breakthrough album, Jordan re-records Racine in full as Racine Revisited. The album gives the 1992 material a contemporary production while preserving the original's blues-rock soul. A testament to how strongly the material holds up a quarter century later.

• 2020

  Rebel Moon Blues — #5 Billboard Blues ChartAlbumChart

  Jordan's first dedicated blues album — a genre she had always drawn from but never made the centrepiece of a record. Features covers of blues classics plus the original co-written with Derek Sharp, "The Key." "That song came together in an hour. When it's meant to happen it really just flows out."

  The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. American Blues Scene wrote: "After three decades in the business, many singers lose that certain something that may have launched their career. Not so with Sass Jordan. Not only is her voice as muscular as ever, I think, like fine wine, it's improved over the years."

• 2022

  Bitches Blues — Blues SequelAlbum

  The follow-up to Rebel Moon Blues, released on Deko Entertainment. Continues the deep dive into blues that began in 2020. Critically praised as a further confirmation of Jordan's late-career artistic peak. Rebel Moon Whiskey (blended Canadian whisky by Dixon Distilleries) and Kick Ass Sass Wine (from Vineland Estates Winery, Niagara Region) are both active during this period.

• Apr 28, 2023

  Live in New York Ninety-Four — Tribute to Taylor HawkinsLiveTaylor Hawkins Tribute

  Released April 28, 2023 on Deko Entertainment. Recorded live at the South Street Seaport in New York City during the 1994 Rats tour. The live band: Jordan (vocals), Taylor Hawkins (drums/vocals), Stevie Salas (guitar), Nick Lashley (guitar), Tony Reyes (bass). Released to honour Hawkins' memory — one year after his death on March 25, 2022.

  Jordan: "I wanted to do something to honor his memory — a recognition and appreciation for his glorious, big, beautiful energy — which lives on through this recording and in all of our hearts." The album includes never-before-seen photos from Jordan's personal collection from the 1994 tour. A limited-edition vinyl release follows.

"It was the strangest thing because it all happened overnight, but I had been doing this for almost 15 years at that point." — Sass Jordan, on the overnight success of Tell Somebody in 1988

Complete Discography

"After three decades in the business, many singers lose that certain something that may have launched their career. Not so with Sass Jordan. Not only is her voice as muscular as ever, I think, like fine wine, it's improved over the years." — American Blues Scene, reviewing Rebel Moon Blues (2020)

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