Jill Sobule, the groundbreaking singer-songwriter and activist whose 1995 song “I Kissed a Girl” is widely considered the first openly gay-themed song to crack the Billboard Top 20, died in a Minneapolis house fire early Thursday morning, her rep confirmed. She was 66.
The cause of the fire is unclear and remains under investigation, according to local authorities. The friends with whom she was staying thought she had escaped the fire and did not realize she was inside until the house was engulfed.
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Sobule’s unusually diverse three-decade/12-album career included that song as well as “Supermodel” from the film “Clueless” and, more recently, the Drama Desk-nominated autobiographical musical “Fuck 7th Grade,” which enjoyed four theatrical runs in three years. The original cast recording of the show is set to be released on June 6, alongside a special 30th anniversary reissue of her self-titled album, which features “I Kissed a Girl” and “Supermodel.”
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She was scheduled to perform in her native Denver tomorrow night at at Swallow Hill Music’s Tuft Theater, “Jill Sobule presents: Songs From F*ck 7th Grade & More”; instead there will be an informal gathering hosted by her friend Ron Bostwick from 105.5 FM.
Her manager, John Porter, said in a statement: “Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture. I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory, & legacy continue to live on and inspire others.”
Ken Hertz, her longtime attorney, said, “Jill wasn’t just a client. She was family to us. She showed up for every birth, every birthday, and every holiday. She performed at our daughter’s wedding, and I was her ‘tech’ when she performed by Zoom from our living room (while living with us) during the pandemic.”
Born in Denver in 1959, Sobule released her Todd Rundgren-produced debut album, “Things Here Are Different,” in 1990; a second album was recorded with British singer Joe Jackson, but was not released. She signed with Atlantic in 1995 and enjoyed hits with her self-titled album, but the pop format constricted the wide-ranging topics and ideas of her often-witty songs — which have ranged from capital punishment to shoplifting, from anorexia to the MAGA movement — and over the following years she released music on independent labels while working on theatrical and television projects, including the theme for the Nickelodeon show “Unfabulous.”
In 2008 she became a pioneer of using crowdfunding to release albums, offering patrons everything from a free download along with the physical copy of the album (for $10) to the opportunity to sing on the record ($10,000). In less than two months she had reached her $75,000 target goal, via more than 500 donations, and released the album, “California Years,” in 2009 on her Pinko Records label. She used crowdfunding again a decade later for her “Nostalgia Kills” album.
A formal memorial celebrating her life and legacy will take place during the summer, her rep said.
She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, James and Mary Ellen Sobule, and her nephews, Ian Matthew and Robert and Robert’s wife Irina.
