Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, who hit with I Kissed a Girl, dead after house fire

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 02, 2025 8:08 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Jill Sobule, the award-winning singer-songwriter whose witty and poignant penning archetypal attracted wide attraction with the opus I Kissed a Girl, died successful a location occurrence Thursday. She was 66.

Her decease was confirmed by her publicist, David Elkin, successful an email Thursday afternoon. It was not instantly wide however the occurrence successful Woodbury, Minn., started.

"Jill Sobule was a unit of quality and quality rights advocator whose euphony is woven into our culture," John Porter, her manager, said successful a statement. "I was having truthful overmuch amusive moving with her. I mislaid a lawsuit and a person today. I anticipation her music, memory, and bequest proceed to unrecorded connected and animate others."

During her much than 3 decades of recording, Sobule released 12 albums that addressed specified analyzable topics arsenic the decease penalty, anorexia nervosa, reproduction and 2SLGBTQ+ issues.

Her archetypal album, Things Here Are Different, was released successful 1990. Five years later, she received wide attraction for her deed singles, Supermodel, featured in the movie Clueless, and I Kissed A Girl, which, contempt being banned connected respective confederate vigor stations, made it into the Billboard Top 20. The second song's light-hearded video featured exemplary Fabio arsenic Sobule's emotion interest.

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Colorado performance to beryllium a tribute instead

Sobule was known for taking power of her vocation by fundraising truthful she could marque her adjacent album. In 2008, aft 2 large grounds companies dumped her and 2 indie labels went bankrupt beneath her, she raised tens of thousands of dollars from fans truthful she could marque a caller album.

"The aged benignant of paradigm, wherever you've ever waited for different radical to bash things, you'd person your manager and your agent," she said astatine the time. "You'd hold for the large grounds institution to springiness you wealth to bash things and they archer you what to do. This is truthful great. I privation to bash everything similar this."

Sobule had shows scheduled successful the U.S. done October, according to her website, and was scheduled to execute successful Denver connected Friday night. Instead, determination volition beryllium an informal gathering hosted by her person Ron Bostwick from 105.5 The Colorado Sound astatine the show abstraction wherever attendees tin "share a communicative oregon song," according to her publicist.

A ceremonial memorial to observe her beingness and bequest volition beryllium held aboriginal this summer.

"No 1 made maine laughter more. Her tone and vigor shall beryllium greatly missed wrong the euphony assemblage and beyond," Craig Grossman, her booking agent, said successful a statement.

Artists who collaborated oregon toured with Sobule paid tribute online aft her decease was announced, including Lloyd Cole, Tom Morello, Mocean Worker, Eels and members of Nada Surf and the Violent Femmes.

"Jill conscionable finished a circuit with america respective days agone and was truthful afloat of beingness and talent. Our hearts are broken," the set the Fixx said successful a societal media post.

Staged off-Broadway musical

Born successful Denver on Jan. 16, 1959, Sobule has described herself arsenic a shy kid who preferred observing implicit participating.

She was known for playing dozens of shows a twelvemonth and has described her unrecorded performances arsenic susceptible experiences. She said she often doesn't person a acceptable database and wings it.

She's performed with specified icons arsenic Neil Young, Billy Bragg and Cyndi Lauper and besides inducted Neil Diamond into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, according to her website. She appeared arsenic herself successful episodes of West Wing and Treme and successful animated signifier connected The Simpsons successful 2019.

She besides starred successful an autobiographical off-Broadway philharmonic that initially premiered astatine the Wild Project successful New York successful 2022 and includes songs and stories astir her life.

"In a bully way, I consciousness similar I'm inactive a rookie," she told The Associated Press successful 2023 successful an interrogation astir her musical. "There's truthful overmuch much to bash and I haven't done my champion yet."

She is survived by her member and sister-in-law, James and Mary Ellen Sobule, on with her nephews and cousins.