Singer and songwriter Jill Sobule, 66, died in a house fire while staying with friends near Minneapolis on May 1. Sobule’s biggest hits were the mid-90s “I Kissed a Girl” and “Supermodel.” She was still touring and was getting ready for a gig in Denver. Beginning in 1990, Sobule recorded eight albums (many of the recent ones crowd-funded). She and the brilliant monogolist Julia Sweeney toured together in The Jill and Julia Show. At the time of her death, Sobule had just completed a musical, F*ck 7th Grade (a sentiment I believe we can all agree with). She told The Rumpus site of “I Kissed a Girl,” “When Katy Perry’s version came out I started getting tons of inquiries about what I thought. Some folks (and protective friends) were angry, and wondered why she took my title and made it into this kind of ‘girls gone wild’ thing. Others, including my mother, were excited because they thought I would somehow make some money out of it. Unfortunately, you can’t copyright a title.” She added, “Fuck you Katy Perry, you fucking stupid, maybe ‘not good for the gays,’ title-thieving, haven’t heard much else, so not quite sure if you’re talented, fucking little slut. God that felt good.”
Jill Sobule’s “I Kissed a Girl” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUi11Cz4ZUg
