Award-winning singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, who first strode into the public spotlight with the gay-themed song “I Kissed a Girl,” died Thursday in a house fire. She was 66.
AP reports 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.”
Ken Hertz, her longtime attorney, said [in a statement/on social media]: “Jill wasn’t just a client. She was family to us. She showed up for every birth, every birthday, and every holiday. She performed at our daughter’s wedding, and I was her ‘tech’ when she performed by Zoom from our living room (while living with us) during the pandemic.”
File/Jill Sobule and Boy George attend Seventh Annual GLAAD Media Awards on March 10, 1996 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California. (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Across more than three decades of recording, Sobule delivered 12 albums addressing a range of topics from the death penalty to anorexia nervosa, reproduction and LGBTQI+ issues.
The AP notes 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, the outlet continued.
Born in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 16, 1959, she has described herself as a shy child who preferred observing over participating.
A formal memorial to celebrate her life and legacy will be held later this summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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