She was cherished.
Jill Sobule’s dying has introduced individuals collectively, together with those that had been near her in her youthful years.
The Put up spoke to Sobule’s former faculty roommate, who shared specifics concerning the singer’s time on the College of Colorado and expressed remorse over not conserving in nearer contact amid the musician’s passing.
“We were only roommates our freshman year but were friends throughout college,” Wendy Greengard Mikulka informed The Put up. She additionally supplied a photograph with Sobule from inside their dorm in Williams Village on the college.
“She spent a semester in Spain and came back and didn’t continue college so she could pursue her music career,” she mentioned of Sobule. “She wrote a song called ‘Wendell Lee.’ He is the guy sitting next to her in the picture.”
Greengard Mikulka recalled Sobule being “the life of the party and easy to be around,” including the late singer was “so fun in college.”
“She always wanted to be a musician. I used to go to her gigs at coffee shops in Boulder and listen to her play. Some of her other friends and I used to pretend to be backup singers and dancers. She always loved writing fun songs,” she shared of Sobule’s early years earlier than fame.
The “I Kissed a Girl” singer all the time had a humorousness, her former roommate recalled.
“I remember one Halloween she dressed up like a pregnant Girl Scout. That was Jill for you,” her faculty buddy mentioned, including, “She left college and moved back to Denver if I remember right, and didn’t graduate with me, and we kind of lost touch.”
Nonetheless, their paths would later cross in San Francisco, with Greengard Mikulka telling The Put up that she went to one among Sobule’s exhibits within the metropolis about 10 years in the past.
“We stayed after the show was over and spent a bunch of time catching up,” she mentioned.
Greengard Mikulka expressed remorse for not conserving nearer contact with Sobule.
“I tried to contact her after her mom died, but was unsuccessful. I wish I would have tried harder,” she shared.
Sobule unexpectedly died in Minnesota Could 1, when a hearth broke out on the home the place she was staying. She was 66.
Whereas her pals made it out of their residence safely, they didn’t discover the singer was unable to free herself from the flames.
Regulation enforcement mentioned an investigation is underway to find out if Sobule handed away earlier than the lethal inferno broke out.
“WPD can confirm the victim of the fire yesterday morning was Jill Sobule,” WPD patrol commander Tom Ehrenberg informed The Put up Friday. He additionally mentioned investigators are trying into how the hearth began.
“The Ramsey County Medical Examiner did not finalize the cause of death. The fire itself, including the cause, is still under active investigation, which is standing operating procedure.”
Her pals don’t know how the hearth began, in accordance with TMZ.
Sobule’s physique is being examined for medication, alcohol and carbon monoxide poisoning to find out when and the way she handed away, a Ramsey County rep informed the outlet.
The singer was behind the long-lasting 1995 hit “I Kissed a Girl,” which is broadly thought-about the primary overtly gay-themed tune to interrupt into the Billboard Prime 20.
Sobule additionally discovered recognition along with her music “Supermodel,” which was featured in Alicia Silverstone’s breakout film “Clueless,” the autobiographical Drama Desk-nominated musical “F–k 7th Grade” about being queer in center college, and creating the theme music for Nickelodeon’s “Unfabulous.”
Sobule was on the point of have a good time the 30-year anniversary of “F–k 7th Grade,” with the unique solid recording being launched in June alongside the re-issue of her self-titled album, that includes “I Kissed a Girl” and “Supermodel.”
A number of of Sobule’s colleagues have spoken out after her passing.
Her reserving agent, Ken Hertz, known as her “family.”
“She showed up for every birth, every birthday, and every holiday. She performed at our daughter’s wedding, and I was her ‘tech’ when she performed by Zoom from our living room (while living with us) during the pandemic,” Hertz informed The Put up.
Sobule is survived by her brother, James, sister-in-law, Mary, and two nephews. A proper memorial celebrating her life will reportedly occur this summer season.
