Her family's statement said she "peacefully crossed over to the other side" while "surrounded by her loving family," describing her as "an inimitable force of nature" and "an irreplaceable being of light and joy." Publicist Eric Alper confirmed the news, and a cause of death has not been released.

The record corroborated across multiple outlets is substantial. Born in Birmingham, England, Jordan moved to Montreal as a child and was fronting downtown club bands as a teenager. Her recording career began in 1986 as co-lead vocalist on "Come On (Baby Tonight)" from Bündock's album Mauve. Her 1988 solo debut Tell Somebody reached No. 11 on Canadian charts, earning the 1989 Juno for Most Promising Female Vocalist, with later nominations in 1990, 1993 and 1995. The 1992 album Racine sold more than 450,000 copies, spawned the U.S. Top 20 hit "Make You a Believer," and led to a Joe Cocker duet, "Trust in Me," on The Bodyguard soundtrack, which sold over 45 million copies. Billboard named her its top female rock artist of 1992.

One detail the Toronto Sun highlights that singing fans find especially striking: Jordan hired a young Taylor Hawkins — later of the Foo Fighters — as her touring drummer, and Hawkins credited her with teaching him the ropes. "Sass taught me how to be in a rock and roll band and gave me my first rock and roll cheque," he said. They reunited in Toronto in 2015 when Jordan joined the Foo Fighters to sing the Faces' "Stay With Me," and Dave Grohl told the Molson Amphitheatre crowd that "if it weren't for Sass Jordan, Taylor Hawkins wouldn't be in Foo Fighters." Tributes also poured in from Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple and Lee Aaron.

With the cause of death undisclosed and no further details released, the immediate future is memorial rather than musical. Jordan is survived by her husband, musician Derek Sharp, daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp, stepdaughter Brianne Sharp and brother Daniel Jordan; her family has asked for privacy while thanking fans worldwide, per the statement carried by Parade via AOL. Fans revisiting her catalog will find a 2023 live release, Live in New York Ninety-Four, drawn from a 1990s performance, which Ascendants notes captured her earlier touring era. For a singer who once said she was "a huge, gigantic fan" of music herself, the tributes from Hughes and Aaron suggest the fandom ran both ways.