Jill Sobule, the singer-songwriter known for 'I Kissed a Girl,' has died
in a fire
[May 02, 2025]
By HALLIE GOLDEN
Jill Sobule, the award-winning singer-songwriter whose witty and
poignant writing first attracted widespread attention with the
gay-themed song “I Kissed a Girl,” died in a house fire Thursday. She
was 66.
Her death was confirmed by her publicist, David Elkin, in an email
Thursday afternoon. It was not immediately clear how the fire in
Woodbury, Minnesota, started.
“Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music
is woven into our culture,” John Porter, her manager, said in a
statement. “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.”
During her more than three decades of recording, Sobule released 12
albums that addressed such complex topics as the death penalty, anorexia
nervosa, reproduction and LGBTQ+ issues.
Her first album, “Things Here Are Different,” was released in 1990. Five
years later, she received widespread attention for her hit singles,
“Supermodel,” from the movie “Clueless,” and “I Kissed A Girl," which,
despite being banned on several southern radio stations, made it into
the Billboard Top 20.
She also starred in an autobiographical off-Broadway musical that
initially premiered at the Wild Project in New York in 2022 and includes
songs and stories about her life.
Sobule was known for taking control of her career by fundraising so she
could make her next album. In 2008, after two major record companies
dumped her and two indie labels went bankrupt beneath her, she raised
tens of thousands of dollars from fans so she could make a new album.
“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.”
Sobule was scheduled to perform in Denver on Friday night. Instead,
there will be an informal gathering hosted by her friend Ron Bostwick
from 105.5 The Colorado Sound at the performance space where attendees
can "share a story or song,” according to her publicist.
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Singer Jill Sobule poses on a sofa before performing at New York's
"Supper Club" March 19, 1997. (AP Photo/Rick Maiman, File)
 A formal memorial to celebrate her
life and legacy will be held later this summer.
“No one made me laugh more. Her spirit and energy shall be greatly
missed within the music community and beyond,” Craig Grossman, her
booking agent, said in a statement.
Born in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 16, 1959, she has described
herself as a shy child who preferred observing over participating.
Sobule was known for playing dozens of shows a year and has
described her live performances as vulnerable experiences. She said
she often doesn’t have a set list and wings it.
She's performed with such icons as Neil Young, Billy Bragg and Cyndi
Lauper, and also inducted Neil Diamond into the Songwriter’s Hall of
Fame, according to her website. She also sang a song as herself on
an episode of “The Simpsons” in 2019.
“In a good way, I feel like I’m still a rookie," she told The
Associated Press in 2023 in an interview 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.
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