Jill Sobule | |
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.jpg) Sobule in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Jill Susan Sobule (1959-01-16)January 16, 1959 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | May 1, 2025(2025-05-01) (aged 66) Woodbury, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Genres | Folk-pop[1] |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1986–2025 |
| Labels | |
| Website | jillsobule |
Jill Susan Sobule (/ˈsoʊbjuːl/SOH-byool;[2] January 16, 1959 – May 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 filmClueless. Her folk-inflected compositions alternate between ironic, story-driven character studies and emotive ballads, a duality reminiscent of such 1970s American songwriters asWarren Zevon,Harry Nilsson,Loudon Wainwright III,Harry Chapin, andRandy Newman. Autobiographical elements, including Sobule'sJewish heritage and her adolescent battles withanorexia anddepression, frequently occur in Sobule's writing.
In 2009, Sobule releasedCalifornia Years, an album funded entirely by fan donations, making her an early pioneer ofcrowdfunding.[3]
Sobule was born into asecular Jewish family inDenver, Colorado on January 16, 1959.[4] Her father, Marvin Lee, was a veterinarian, and her mother, Elaine, was a musician. She had a brother, James.[5]
Sobule attendedSt. Mary's Academy, while she was the only Jew there, she played the guitar duringmass.[6] She enrolled at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder to study political science[7] and spent her junior year inSeville, Spain, where she first performed her public gigs.[8] Sobule later returned to the U.S.[8] and dropped out from UC-Boulder to pursue a music career.[7]
Sobule released eight studio albums of original songs, fourEPs, and agreatest hits compilation album. Sobule's output also include original songs available only via the Internet, a cover ofRobert Earl Keen'scountry holiday favorite "Merry Christmas from the Family," and a version of her late friendWarren Zevon's "Don't Let Us Get Sick", included on both Sobule's acoustic albumThe Folk Years 2003-2003 and on a posthumousZevon tribute record, both released in 2004.[9]
Sobule's debut album,Things Here Are Different, was released byMCA Records in 1990. Produced by pop legendTodd Rundgren, the album failed to sell. She made a followup record produced by British New Wave rockerJoe Jackson (for whom she opened in 1991), but Sobule was dropped from her label and the second album was never released. She recorded another album's worth of songs, withWendy & Lisa producing, in 1992; this was also shelved by MCA. Three of the songs from those sessions – "Trains," "Karen By Night" and "Margaret" – would be re-recorded when Sobule signed withLava/Atlantic for her eponymous second album, released five years after her debut.
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Her 1995 albumJill Sobule established Sobule as part of a fruitful mid-90s movement of female singer-songwriters that included such artists asLisa Loeb,Juliana Hatfield, andAlanis Morissette. The album contains Sobule's best-known composition and biggest hit, "I Kissed a Girl", a story-song about alesbian flirtation between two suburban girlfriends which became an unlikely radio success thanks in part to a comedic music video featuring beefcake modelFabio Lanzoni. "Supermodel" (sample lyric: "I didn't eat yesterday ... and I'm not gonna eat today ... and I'm not gonna eat tomorrow ... 'Cause I'm gonna be a supermodel") managed to both send up and celebrate American teenage lifestyles, and became well known after its inclusion in 1995's hit teen comedy filmClueless.[10]
TheJill Sobule album seemed to establish Sobule's commercial prospects, but her third album slowed that momentum while setting what was the musical and production patterns for the rest of her career. In 1997Happy Town featured Sobule's most elaborate pop productions and contains songs about an eclectic range of topics including reactionary Christianity ("Soldiers of Christ"), the negative impact ofantidepressant medication on the libido ("Happy Town"), and a track that usesAnne Frank'senforced Nazi-era hibernation as the metaphor for a love song ("Attic"). Though embraced by record reviewers from publications as diverse asThe Advocate[11] andEntertainment Weekly,[12]Happy Town sold poorly, simultaneously solidifying Sobule's critical reputation while stalling her commercial momentum.
The 2000 recordPink Pearl may be Sobule's most characteristic set. It is anchored by three female character studies: "Lucy at the Gym", about an anorexic exercise addict; "Claire", about an aging lesbian aviator succumbing toAlzheimer's disease; and "Mary Kay", aboutMary Kay Letourneau, the notorious real-life schoolteacher who became impregnated and was imprisoned as the result of thestatutory rape of a 13-year-old male student, whom she married when he reached the age of consent.[13]
Pink Pearl also contains some of Sobule's most directly confessional songwriting, especially the atheist's prayer "Somewhere in New Mexico" and the insomniac's lullaby "Rock Me To Sleep".Don Henley contributed a promotional quotation to the ad campaign for the album and selected Sobule to open for him during his solo tour that year.
In 2004, Sobule self-released an album of acoustic tracks titledThe Folk Years 2003–2003.[14] In the album, Sobule performed offbeat cover versions of such standards as theDoris Day theme song "Que Sera Sera"[15] and "Sunrise, Sunset" from theBroadway musicalFiddler on the Roof.[14]
The more elaborately recordedUnderdog Victorious, also released in 2004, was one of the last albums distributed by legendary personal manager and media entrepreneurDanny Goldberg's now-defunctArtemis Records.[16] Stalling album sales led Sobule to move to Los Angeles.[17] She continued to write and perform prolifically and to compose original music for television, including for the popularNickelodeon seriesUnfabulous.[18]
Sobule also acted and performed her songs in writer-directorEric Schaeffer's 2004 filmMind the Gap, as a street musician inAstoria, Queens with a heart condition, who aspires to play in Manhattan.
In mid-January 2008, Sobule launched a website, jillsnextrecord.com, which sought to raise $75,000 through fan donations in order to produce, manufacture, distribute, and promote an upcoming studio album. In exchange for their donations, Sobule offered her patrons an assortment of rewards with values commensurate with the amount of the donation. These ranged from a free download of the album upon its release ($10) to the opportunity to attend a recording session and sing on the record ($10,000).
On March 8, 2008, 53 days after the public launch of the site, Sobule reached her target through donations from more than 500 people in 44 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and 11 foreign countries. The subsequent album,California Years, was released on April 14, 2009 on Sobule's own label, Pinko Records.[19]
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On Sobule's next recordDottie's Charms in 2014, she put music to lyrics of her friends and favorite authors, includingDavid Hajdu,Jonathan Lethem,Vendela Vida, andLucy Sante, with each song relating to individual charms on an antiquecharm bracelet she had been given.[20]
In 2018, Sobule again used crowdfunding to assist with the production of her final album,Nostalgia Kills.[21]Rolling Stone listed the first single from the album, "Island of Lost Things", among the 10 best new country and Americana songs.[22]
Sobule's semi-autobiographical musical "Fuck 7th Grade" opened at the Wild Project theater in New York in October 2022 and had several runs there.[18] It was nominated for a 2023Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical.[23] ANew York Times review said the show was "for the nerds who grew up to be the cool people."[24]
From 2020, Sobule acted as musician-in-residence at theBayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, an LGBTQIA community center.[25]
In the late 1990s, Sobule toured withRichard Barone as "The Richard & Jill Show".[17][26] Together they wrote "Bitter" onHappy Town,[27] "Rock Me To Sleep" onPink Pearl[28] and "Waiting for the Train" on Barone'sClouds Over Eden album.[29] They also appeared together (as Mr. and Mrs. Sobule) in the underground filmNext Year in Jerusalem, which featured another of their compositions, "Everybody's Queer".[14] The pair continued to collaborate, including writing "Odd Girl Out" for Barone's 2010 album,Glow (Bar/None Records), as well as continuing to perform together.[30] Their songs have been used onThe West Wing,Dawson's Creek,[31]Felicity,[32]South of Nowhere,[33] and other television shows. In 2018, Barone produced and sang backing vocals on "Island of Lost Things" on Sobule's albumNostalgia Kills.[34]
From 1997 until 1998, Sobule was a member ofLloyd Cole's short-lived band The Negatives.[35]
In the fall of 2003, Sobule joinedSteve Earle,Billy Bragg,Tom Morello,Janeane Garofalo and others for several dates on the Tell Us the Truth Tour, sponsored by theAFL-CIO andCommon Cause. The tour aimed to raise awareness of issues including media consolidation and political bias during theGeorge W. Bush administration, and to get out the vote.[36]
In 2004, she acted in the filmMind the Gap with six of her songs featured on the soundtrack.[37]
In 2005, Sobule contributed music toUnfabulous, a popular Nickelodeon TV series about a 13-year-old aspiring songwriter, including a title song performed by Sobule under the program's opening credits. Four Sobule compositions or co-compositions appear on the soundtrack album, performed by series starEmma Roberts,Unfabulous and More:[38] a cover version of "Mexican Wrestler" from Sobule's albumPink Pearl; "Punch Rocker" and "94 Weeks (Metal Mouth Freak)," both written by Sobule for Roberts' character to "compose" on the program; and "New Shoes," a track co-written withUnfabulous series creatorSue Rose.
In 2006, Sobule met actress, writer and comedianJulia Sweeney by chance at a conference inMonterey, California, which led to them performing together as "The Jill and Julia Show", an autobiographical mix of music, stories and commentary. They would perform at theJames Randi Educational Foundation meeting inLas Vegas on January 19, 2007, as well as at regular shows at theGroundlings Theater in Los Angeles. Also in 2006, Sobule created a theme song for bloggerArianna Huffington's self-help bookOn Becoming Fearless.[39]
In 2007, Sobule teamed up withJohn Doe to produce and record a cover ofNeil Young's "Down by the River" for theAmerican Laundromat Records benefit CDCinnamon Girl – Women Artists Cover Neil Young For Charity. Other contributing artists includedJosie Cotton,Tanya Donelly,Kristin Hersh,Lori McKenna,Britta Phillips, andThe Watson Twins.[40]
Also in 2007, Sobule's song "San Francisco" became the first single released byDon Was as part of his Wasmopolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music, an advertiser-sponsored means for the recording and distribution of new music, part of the multimedia website mydamnchannel.com. The pair also collaborated on a 16-minute concert video, directed byMargaret Cho and entitled "Jill Sobule's Dance Party," distributed for free in two parts on both mydamnchannel.com andYouTube.[41][42] Sobule also collaborated with Cho on the 2010 song and video "The Bear Song."[43]
In May 2008, Sobule released a CD of music fromProzak and the Platypus, a multi-media collaboration of Sobule, playwright Elise Thoron, and graphic artist KellyAnne Hanrahan. The play, written by Thoron (book, lyrics) and Sobule (music) and illustrated in a graphic novella by Hanrahan, tells the story of a fierce young woman, Sara (a musician), and her father Arvin, a neuroscientist, who relocates his family from Los Angeles toBrisbane, Australia, to studyR.E.M. sleep in theplatypus, a unique species native to Australia. Shattered by her mother's recent suicide and unhappy with the side effects of her own treatment for depression, Sara renames herself "Prozak," rages through her songwriting, and rebels.[44] Meanwhile, in her father's lab, Sara finds an unexpected confidant in her father's current lab subject, a jauntyplatypus who speaks to her and calls himself "Frankie". In the piece, according to its website, "Music club and science lab become testing grounds in which angry teen and scientist father pitaboriginal mythology against modern neuroscience research. The dreams of a platypus prove to be the link between the two."
After performing together at a 2008TED conference,[45] Sobule and Sweeney revived "The Jill and Julia Show", bringing it on the road in 2009 and 2010, performing in New York andDenver, among other locations. The show featured an original theme song they'd co-written. In 2013, a condensed half-hour version of their show, recorded inGrand Marais, Minnesota, was featured on the public radio programMountain Stage, syndicated nationally byNational Public Radio.[46] (In all, Sobule appeared onMountain Stage 11 times from 1995 to 2024.)[47]
Sobule and John Doe would team again in 2010 to make a collaborative album, which they recorded live in one day at The Pass studio in Los Angeles on April 11, 2010.A Day at the Pass was released one year later forRecord Store Day, April 16, 2011.
In 2015, Sobule co-wrote four songs and sang back-up on a collection of new songs with lyrics by the writer David Hajdu: "The Angel in the Attic," "Bad Idea," "Nothing," and "The Girl in the Grocery Box." The album title,Waiting for the Angel, came from one of the songs co-written by Jill, who also sang on the track.[48]
Sobule identified asbisexual.[49]
Sobule died in ahouse fire inWoodbury, Minnesota, on the morning of May 1, 2025, at the age of 66.[50][18]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [53] | US Radio [54] | US Adult [55] | AUS [51] | |||
| "Too Cool to Fall in Love" | 1990 | — | — | 17 | — | Things Here Are Different |
| "Living Color" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Kissed a Girl" | 1995 | 67 | 74 | — | 36 | Jill Sobule |
| "Supermodel" | — | — | — | 53 | ||
| "Good Person Inside" | 1996 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Bitter" | 1997 | — | — | — | 74 | Happy Town |
| "When My Ship Comes In" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "One of These Days" | 2000 | — | — | — | — | Pink Pearl |
| "Rainy Day Parade" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Stoned Soul Picnic" | 2001 | — | — | — | — | I Never Learned to Swim: Jill Sobule 1990–2000 |
| "Cinnamon Park" | 2004 | — | — | — | — | Underdog Victorious |
| "San Francisco" | 2007 | — | — | — | — | California Years |
| "Island of Lost Things" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | Nostalgia Kills |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
