Editors Note: As I prepare to attend the 30th Anniversary of the Durango Songwriters Expo, my heart is heavy. Last year, and many previous years as well, we featured the inimitable Ms. Jill Sobule at our event. We got to know Jill well and she was an absolutely lovely person: kind, empathetic, curious, funny and most of all a brilliant and totally original talent. She was a singer and songwriter, a great musician, a poet, a playwright, and to us at the DSE, a dear friend. If you are not familiar with Jill Sobule the artist, watch some of her videos…you will fall in love with her as we did.

Jill Sobule, the singer-songwriter celebrated for her 1995 hit “I Kissed a Girl,” passed away on May 1, 2025, at the age of 66 in a house fire in Woodbury, Minnesota.

Her death occurred just a day before she was scheduled to perform selections from her autobiographical musical *F*ck 7th Grade* in her hometown of Denver. The performance has since been transformed into a memorial honoring her legacy.

Born in Denver on January 16, 1959, Sobule began her music career in the late 1980s. Her breakthrough came with her 1995 self-titled album, which featured “I Kissed a Girl,” one of the first openly queer-themed songs to chart on the Billboard Top 20. The album also included “Supermodel,” a satirical track that gained additional fame when featured in the 1995 film *Clueless*.

Over her three-decade career, Sobule released 12 albums, addressing themes such as LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, and social justice. She was known for her witty and poignant songwriting, often blending humor with serious topics. In 2009, Sobule pioneered crowdfunding in the music industry by raising $75,000 from fans to produce her album *California Years*.

In recent years, Sobule ventured into musical theater with her semi-autobiographical musical *F*ck 7th Grade*, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2022 and earned a Drama Desk nomination. Cast recording of the musical is scheduled for release in June 2025, alongside a 30th-anniversary edition of her 1995 album.

Sobule is remembered not only for her musical talents but also for her advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and her contributions to the arts. She is survived by her brother, James, sister-in-law Mary, and two nephews.