Sass Jordan

Infobox Musical artist


Img_size = 150
Name = Sass Jordan
Background = khaki
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Birth_name = Sarah Jordan
Born = Birth date and age|1962|12|23|mf=y
Died =
Origin = Birmingham, West Midlands, England
Genre = Rock
Occupation = Singer, actress, Television Personality
Instrument = Vocals, Bass
Years_active = 1982 — present
Label = Aquarius Records, MapleMusic Recordings
URL = [http://www.sassjordan.com SassJordan.com]

Sarah "Sass" Jordan (born December 23, 1962) [cite web | url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0020183 | publisher="The Canadian Encyclopedia" | accessdate=2008-03-27 | first=Steve | last=Maclean | title=Jordan, Sarah (Sass) ] is a Canadian, Juno Award winning, rock singer/songwriter who grew up in Montreal.

Biography

Sass Jordan was born in Birmingham, England to a French professor and an actress/ballet dancer. She first made her name "swingin' a mean bass" and singing lead with late '70s Montreal New Wave quartet The Pinups. She embarked on a solo career in the mid-'80s, biding her time initially as she honed her writing skills by contributing material to recording projects by a number of high profile Quebec artists and by handling backing vocals for a variety of acts, most notably The Box. Between forays to New York to scope out the scene there, she became one of the first veejays in Canada as host and interviewer on a Montreal video show, the precursor to MusiquePlus. Her first album, "Tell Somebody", was released in 1988 and brought with it a Juno Award in Canada, and her first platinum CD.

Her singing and performing talents were promoted almost from the outset by Gene Simmons of KISS, members of the bands Cheap Trick and Van Halen and the late chart-topping composer Michael Kamen, whose recommendation led to an audition for a lead role as the terrorist in the film "" opposite Bruce Willis. There was also a friendship with late counterculture guru, Dr. Timothy Leary.

Her second disc "Racine" found Jordan coming to terms with "the recognition factor" and a new lifestyle in the U.S. which, from her new base in Los Angeles, saw her gravitate to the southwest and its musical influences. That, combined with her desire to form a band with the swagger of Rod Stewart and the Faces, came together on "Racine", the CD that brought her the title of Album Rock's Top Female Artist for 1992 from "Billboard" and praise from "Creem": "… she sings balls-out rock with a bluesy twinge that'd make Janis Joplin or Maggie Bell proud." There was also a duet with Joe Cocker on "The Bodyguard", and an acting role on the hit TV series "Sisters" alongside Sela Ward.

After the release of her third CD "Rats", she toured the world with artists like Aerosmith, Steve Perry and Whitesnake.

During a five or six year span that began with her move to Los Angeles, she experienced what she dramatically characterises as "the spiral downwards into the Black Hole of Calcutta." She fired her manager, weathered the deaths of some close friends, and entered a financial crisis.

By the mid '90s, though, she met her future husband, musician/songwriter Derek Sharp. She moved from Los Angeles to a farmhouse in Ontario and, in November 1997, she gave birth to daughter Stella. She subsequently recorded two more CDs: "Present" and "Hot Gossip". As an actress, she was featured in the Toronto and Winnipeg productions of "The Vagina Monologues" before heading for New York to take on the lead role of Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway hit musical "Love Janis". In 2003, the year she took on duties as a judge on the TV show "Canadian Idol". Jordan shared the stage with The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and others as part of the history-making SARS relief concert in Toronto.

Discography

ingles

Albums

* "Tell Somebody" (1988)
* "Racine" (1992)
* "Rats" (1994)
* "Present" (1997)
* "Hot Gossip" (2000)
* "Sass ... The Best Of Sass Jordan" (2003)
* "Get What You Give" (2006)

References