Jill Sobule is the singer-songwriter behind the songs "Supermodel" and "I Kiss a Girl" at the age of 66.
On Thursday, her team announced the musician died in her home in an early-morning house fire. "Jill Sobule is a force for nature and human rights advocates, and its music is woven into our culture," her manager John Porter said in a press release. "I'm very fun working with her. Today I lost a client and a friend. I hope her music, memories and legacy continues to live and inspire others."
Sobule's 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl" became the first publicly gay song, becoming the top 20 gay song on Billboard. Sobule reflects the meaning of the song throughout her life. "(When) I got the record deal, I was sitting in the conference room, ready for the first big conference... They said, 'We already have Tracy Chapman and Melissa Etheridge. Thank God, we finally have a straight-forward female singer. It scared me," she told Philadelphia Gay News In 2021. "When 'Kiss a Girl' comes out, I didn't even think it would play the record, but it came out and was seen as novelty. For me, I wanted it because it was the kind of song I wish I had heard when I was young."
Her single "Supermodel" became part of the 90s cult classic movies ignorancestarring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd. "(That's not my song, but I did it myself. I added that bridge to the song...I had to add some weird Dadaist charm," Sobule told Toledo blade In a March interview about the song.
The singer has given up 12 albums throughout her career and has included a range of topics in her music including anorexia, reproductive rights and intolerance. She also released a movie called Fuck seventh gradefour times in three years. The show's original cast recording is scheduled to drop on June 6, as well as the 30th anniversary vinyl of her album of the same name, which includes "I Kissed a Girl" and "Supermodel."
"I'm lucky to be able to understand Jill's professional relationship," her agent Craig Grossman said in a statement. "No one makes me laugh more. Her spirit and energy will be greatly missed in the music industry and beyond."
The singer will be respected at an "informal party" hosted by a local radio host who initially performed for her Jill Sobule Gift: F*CK Grade 7 and More Songs exhibit. According to the press release, a formal memorial is still being planned this summer.