Marc Jordan

Jordan, Marc

Marc (Wallace) Jordan. Songwriter, singer, guitarist, producer, b Brooklyn, NY, 6 Mar 1948. The son of Charles Jordan, Marc Jordan was raised in Toronto and studied with John Coveart (piano, 1957-60), at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and Hank Monis (guitar, 1971-3). He studied film at Brock University 1968-70, then sang in local coffeehouses (The Riverboat, Groaning Board, etc) in the mid-1970s. Based in Los Angeles 1980-94, and then in Toronto, he has enjoyed a successful career initially as a pop songwriter and later also as a recording artist. His songs have been recorded by such popular US and British groups and singers as Cher, Chicago, Joe Cocker, Kansas, Manhattan Transfer, Bette Midler, Juice Newton, Diana Ross and Rod Stewart. His 'Rhythm of My Heart,' written with John Capek (one of several Jordan collaborators), was a major international hit in 1992 for Stewart. Canadians who have recorded Jordan songs include Susan Aglukark, Holly Cole, Jeff Healey and Amanda Marshall; the latter's recording of "Fall from Grace" was a top 10 adult contemporary hit.

Jordan's Own Recordings
Under his own name, Jordan had minor hits in Canada with 'Marina del Rey' and 'Survival' in 1978 and with 'Edge of the World' in 1990. He had two LPs released in the late 1970s by Warner (Mannequin, KBS-3143; Blue Desert, QBS-3362), a club recording in 1980 by Rio (Marc Jordan Live, RIO-1000), and albums in 1987 and 1990 by RCA/BMG (Talking through Pictures, RCA-5907, and the conservationist C.O.W., RCA-9640, respectively). Subsequent Jordan albums (Reckless Valentine, Cool Jam Black Earth, This Is How Men Cry, Make Believe Ballroom) explored the contemporary jazz genre, with Jordan taking on the role of torch singer. He also recorded his own songs for the soundtracks of several feature films, including Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Australia), Shadow Dancing (Canada), and Youngblood (US). Jordan has performed at jazz and folk festivals and smaller venues in North America and Europe, and occasionally performs with his wife, singer-songwriter Amy Sky.

Awards
Jordan won a Juno award in 1994 as producer of Reckless Valentine, and the first Canadian Smooth Jazz award for male vocalist, in 2005. Jordan's songs are frequently praised for the emotional and poetic quality of his lyrics.

His brother Myles Jordan (b Bowmanville, Ont, 3 Oct 1954), a cellist, was a pupil of Marcus Adeney and studied at Juilliard and the Esther Boyer College of Music in Philadelphia. He became a founding member of the Daponte String Quartet in 1991 and is based in the US.