Jill Sobule, the award-winning singer and songwriter known for her clever and emotional lyrics, died in a house fire on Thursday. She was 66.
Her publicist, David Elkin, confirmed her death by email. Authorities have not yet determined how the fire started in Woodbury, Minnesota.
“Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,” said her manager, John Porter. “I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client & a friend today. I hope her music, memory, & legacy continue to live on and inspire others.”
Over a career spanning more than 30 years, Sobule released 12 albums and wrote songs that touched on serious subjects such as the death penalty, eating disorders, reproduction, and LGBTQ+ rights.
Her first album, Things Here Are Different, came out in 1990. Five years later, she gained wide attention with the hit songs “Supermodel” from the film Clueless, and “I Kissed a Girl,” which was banned by some southern radio stations but still reached the Billboard Top 20.
She performed in an autobiographical off-Broadway musical that debuted at the Wild Project in New York in 2022, where she shared songs and stories from her life.
Sobule became known for funding her own albums. After being dropped by two major labels and seeing two independent labels go under, she raised money directly from her fans in 2008 to record a new album.
Jill Sobule poses for a photo“The old kind of paradigm, where you’ve always waited for other people to do things, you’d have your manager and your agent,” she said at the time. “You’d wait for the big record company to give you money to do things, and they tell you what to do. This is so great. I want to do everything like this.”
She was supposed to perform in Denver on Friday. Instead, her friend Ron Bostwick from 105.5 The Colorado Sound will host a casual gathering at the venue where fans can “share a story or song,” according to her publicist.
A formal memorial service will be held later this summer.
Craig Grossman, her booking agent, said in a statement, “No one made me laugh more. Her spirit and energy shall be greatly missed within the music community and beyond.”
Born in Denver, Colorado, on January 16, 1959, Sobule once described herself as a shy child who liked watching others more than being in the spotlight.
She played many shows each year and described her live performances as open and personal, often without a set list, relying on the moment.
Sobule shared the stage with well-known artists like Neil Young, Billy Bragg, and Cyndi Lauper. She also inducted Neil Diamond into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and appeared as herself singing a song on The Simpsons in 2019.
“In a good way, I feel like I’m still a rookie,” she told The Associated Press in 2023 while talking about her musical. “There’s so much more to do and I haven’t done my best yet.”
She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, James and Mary Ellen Sobule, along with her nephews and cousins.
