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Tragic news out of the music industry and entertainment world:
Jill Sobule, the groundbreaking singer-songwriter of the 1995 smash hit single “I Kissed a Girl,” has passed away in a house fire in Minneapolis, her representative confirmed to Variety and other outlets on Thursday.
She was 66 years old.
“Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,” her manager, John Porter, said in a statement.
“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.”
The aforementioned song is widely considered to have been the first openly lesbian pop song to peak in the Billboard top 20.
The track paved the way for an unlimited number of future LGBTQ+ singer to be candid about their sexuality within their songwriting and to find continued mainstream success as a result.
Sobule released 12 albums over the course of a three-decade-plus career.
Her best known songs included “Supermodel” from the movie 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.”
Sobule was scheduled to perform in Denver on May 2.
Her body was discovered in a home in Woodbury, Minnesota yesterday and police are investigating the cause of the fire, according to the Minnesota Star Tribute.
Sobule’s management and fellow artists mourned the star’s death by recognizing her dedication to progressive activism and her musical talent.
Her agent Craig Grossman of Black Oak Artists, said in a statement to Rolling Stone:
“I was fortunate enough to get to know Jill beyond a professional relationship. No one made me laugh more. Her spirit and energy shall be greatly missed within the music community and beyond.”
Added Sarah Thyre on Instagram about her experience collaborating with Sobule:
“This one hits hard. Jill Sobule was an amazing, generous artist who lent her time and talent to abortion rights and other progressive causes.”
Ken Hertz, the artist’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 came out as bisexual in a 2002 interview with The New York Times.
“All anyone wanted to know was, ‘What was I?’” Sobule told the outlet, adding:
It was a weird thing, because there was a part of me that wanted to say I’m bisexual, but I just didn’t want to get into that. There was a big debate about me, and people were saying, ‘Oh, she’s such a closet case — she won’t come out and say she’s a lesbian.’ And other people were saying, ‘Oh, she’s a heterosexual woman trying to catch a lesbian trend.’ You couldn’t win.“
A formal memorial celebrating Sobule’s life and legacy will take place during the summer, her rep confirmed.
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.
May Jill Sobule rest in peace.
