Jill Sobule, the singer-songwriter and revolutionary activist of the singer-interpreter whose 1995 song “I Kiss a Girl” is widely considered the first song openly on the theme of the gays to break the Billboard top 20, died in a fire of Minneapolis House early Thursday morning, confirmed his representative. She was 66 years old.
The unusually diversified career of three decades / 12 Sobule albums included this song as well as “Supermodel” from the film “Clueless” and, more recently, the autobiographical musical nominated at the “Fuck 7th Grade” dramatic office, which has experienced four theatrical races in three years. The original recording of the show should be released on June 6, alongside a special reissue of the 30th anniversary of his eponymous album, which presents “I Kisshed a Girl” and “Supermodel”.
She had to perform in her native Denver tomorrow evening at the Theather of Swallow Hill Music, “Jill Sobule Presents: Songs of F * CK 7th Grade & More”; Instead, there will be an informal rally organized by his friend Ron Bostwick of 105.5 FM.
His manager, John Porter, said in a statement: “Jill Sobule was a force of nature and the human rights defender whose music is woven in our culture. I had fun working with her so much. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope that his music, memory and heritage continue to live and inspire others. ”
Ken Hertz, his longtime lawyer, “said:” Jill was not just a client. She was family for us. She presented herself for each birth, every birthday and every vacation. She played the wedding of our daughter, and I was his technology ” when she played by zoom in our living room (while living with us) during the pandemic. “
Born in Denver in 1959, Sobule released his first album produced by Todd Rundgren, “Things here are different”, in 1990; A second album was recorded with the British singer Joe Jackson, but was not released. She signed with Atlantic in 1995 and appreciated successes with her eponymous album, but the pop format has tightened the great subjects and the ideas of her often written songs – which have gone from capital pain to display, from anorexia to the Maga movement – and during the following years, she published music on independent labels while working on projects in theater and televised, The theme for the Nickelodeon series “.”
In 2008, she became a pioneer in the use of crowdfunding to get out of the albums, offering customers everything, with a free download with the physical copy of the album (for $ 10) when singing on the disc ($ 10,000). In less than two months, she had reached her target target of $ 75,000, via more than 500 donations, and released the album “California Years”, in 2009 on her Pinko Records label. She used crowdfunding again a decade later for her album “Nostalgia Kills”.
An official memorial celebrating his life and her inheritance will take place during the summer, said his representative.
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.
