Jill Sobule, "I Kissed a Girl" Singer-Songwriter, Dies in House Fire at 66

Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, whose hit song “I Kissed a Girl” became the first-ever openly queer-themed Billboard Top 20 record, died in a house fire in Minneapolis on Thursday at the age of 66.

Sobule was a Drama Desk Award nominee for her hit off-off-Broadway musical F*ck7thGrade, which played multiple return engagements at wild project in the East Village between 2022 and 2024. The autobiographical show, which had music and lyrics by Sobule, a book by Liza Birkenmeier, and direction by Lisa Peterson, received a 2023 Drama Desk Award nod for Outstanding Musical.

Her recording career began in 1990 with the Todd Rundgren-produced album Things Here Are Different, which included the hit single “Too Cool to Fall in Love.” Her self-titled 1995 album introduced both “I Kissed a Girl” and “Supermodel,” which was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Clueless. A pioneer of crowdfunding, she recorded several albums with fan donations, including California Years and Nostalgia Kills.

Over her career, Sobule sang with Neil Young, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Cyndi Lauper, Tom Morello, Warren Zevon, and John Doe, and headlined with Don Henley, Warren Zevon, and many others. She inducted Neil Diamond into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, played herself on The Simpsons, and regularly performed over 100 shows a year on the road.

Sobule was scheduled to perform songs from F*ck7thGrade at the Swallow Hill Music venue in Denver on Friday. She was staying in Minneapolis with friends while she rehearsed for the performance.