Remembering Jill Sobule

• 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, May 1. She was 66.

The friends with whom Sobule was staying in the Twin Cities’ suburb of Woodbury thought she had escaped the fire and did not realize she was inside until the house was engulfed. According to Variety, the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Sobule’s unusually diverse three-decade, 12-album career also included “Supermodel” from the film Clueless, and, more recently, the Drama Desk-nominated autobiographical musical F**k 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.”

Ken Hertz, Sobule’s 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.”

Sobule’s 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.”

Sobule 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. According to her rep, a formal memorial celebrating Sobule’s life and legacy will happen this summer. [Photo: Shervin Lainez]