Sass Jordan recalls the last time that she saw Eddie Van Halen

Sass Jordan recalls the last time that she saw Eddie Van Halen

Canadian artist Sass Jordan had the opportunity to hang out with Eddie and Alex Van Halen for four months in 1996 and the singer recently posted some very interesting and revealing memories of her time with the guys during that time period. Jordan has now posted her “final” Eddie Van Halen instalment which describes the last time that the female singer saw the legendary guitarist before he passed away nine days ago.

The following message was posted on Jordan’s Facebook page on October 11, 2020:

“EVH 5 – WRAP UP

Ok, It’s time to wrap up this little journey into the past. It’s funny, you never think the last time you see someone is actually going to be the last time.

The last time I saw Ed in person, was at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. The old Four Seasons Hotel, I should say. It’s long gone, converted into condos, as all precious landmarks eventually seem to do. We were there with our two kids, visiting Al and Stine, along with all the Van Halen kids, and Ed was on a tear. I don’t think he was doing particularly well, but he was making the best of it. They had just played the Toronto stop on the 2004 tour, and we had taken the kids to see the show – they stood at the sound desk all night, surrounded by hundreds of true Van Halen fans, all flashing the metal horns and jumping and swaying to the music – it was the first loud rock concert the kids had ever been to, and they were completely carried away by the power of it all.

We were back at the hotel for a dinner in Al and Stine’s suite, and the kids were going crazy, burning off some energy, running all over the hallway in full on childlike joy – and Ed was right there with them, chasing them all over the place – and right into the elevator – myself, Derek, Ed, and all the kids, including our then 6 year old daughter, Stella – who came flailing into the elevator with the other kids, all out of breath and sparkling with laughter and joy, when she spotted Ed. She marched right up to him, stared right up at him, and said, while waggling her finger in his face – ‘you play weally good – you were weally good!’. I’ll never forget the look on Ed’s face – complete surprise, and then the most wonderful gentle tenderness as he recognized the innocence that the compliment came from. ‘Why, thank you very much, Miss’ was his reply. It was a surreal moment.

From then on, Al and I stayed in touch fairly frequently for about a year or two. Eventually, though, life started to take us all in different directions, as it always does, and it became more and more difficult to maintain our relationship, especially long distance – and especially when you have young families and intense careers going on. It’s a damn shame, because I really love Al. And now that Ed, his brother, band mate, muse and soul mate is gone, I cannot imagine how he must be feeling. My heart goes out to him and to the rest of Van Halen family, along with the legions of fans that were there through thick and thin, through different singers and lineups, through all the years of silence and rumours…

Ed was an original, a glorious fireball comet that shot across the musical soundscape, blasting a new trajectory that was followed and imitated in an infinite myriad of ways. I was blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know him even a little bit, but his genius touched me and so many others in a way that is difficult to articulate.

Godspeed, Eddie, and may you fly free. We’ll see you on the other side. “