It’s not often musician deaths bring me to my knees..but last night that happened. Jill Sobule passed away in a house fire in Woodbury, MN. She was 66 years young. If this post makes you say, Jill Who, then that’s too bad. You missed the chance at knowing a true music pioneer.

As a 14 year old my music tastes were eclectic to say the least. While most of my colleagues listened to Top 40 radio (okay, I listened to some too) I found comfort in AOR and AAA on stations like WXPN and WFUV. The station introduced me to hundreds of artists but few made as immediate an impact as Jill Sobule. The irony though was that Sobule was both an AOR / AAA artist and a Top 40 star. Well she was for a time.

Her 1995 self titled album was and still is a quirk pop masterpiece. If this is your first time hearing her name, spend time with the album and fall in love. Whether it’s the ahead-of-its-time LGBTQIA pop smash “I Kissed a Girl” or the pensive “Houdini’s Box” or the fiery and addictive “Karen By Night” the album soars and broods and does everything you want a finely crafted album to do. She was quirky, she was weird, she was spunky, she was a delight, and so too was the album. “I Kissed a Girl” was at the time the first openly gay-themed song to ever crack the Billboard Top 20. The glitter-pop bop “Supermodel” (also on the self-titled) appeared on the Clueless soundtrack and Sobule’s ascension to fame was born.

Happy Town followed two years later and was a giant success in Australia, Pink Pearl came three years later. She released two albums in 2004: The Folk Years 2003 – 2003 and Underdog Victorious. After a four year break she released Jill Sobule Sings Prozak and the Platypus and a year later in 2009 she releeased the shimmering California Years, arguably her second best record. Her output slowed down after that. Dottie’s Charms came out in 2014 and 2018’s Nostalgia Kills marked her final studio album. But that didn’t mean Sobule wasn’t busy.

Her most recent project and arguably the one she was likely most proud of was her New York Times Critics’ pick, Drama Desk-nominated, autiobiographical coming of age musical F*ck 7th Grade. The original cast recording of the show is set to be released on June 6, alongside a special 30th anniversary red vinyl reissue of that near-perfect self-titled album.

Openly bisexual throughout her career, Colorado native Sobule was a devoted human rights activist and found fans the world over. Tonight in Denver at Swallow Hill Music’s Tuft Theater (71 E. Yale Ave., 80120), where Jill was scheduled to perform Jill Sobule presents: Songs From F*ck 7th Grade & More” show, there will be an informal gathering hosted by Ron Bostwick from 105.5 The Colorado Sound (who were presenting two of the three Colorado shows this weekend). Attendees are encouraged to join fellow Jill friends and fans to share a story or song. A formal memorial celebrating her life and legacy is slated for this summer.

Sobule is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, James and Mary Ellen Sobule, and her beloved nephews, Ian Matthew and Robert and Robert’s wife Irina. In addition she is survived by beloved cousins, countless friends, and fans. This writer included.