Jill Sobule

Jill Sobule (born January 16, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film Clueless.

Her folk-inflected compositions alternate between ironic, story-driven character studies and emotive ballads, a duality reminiscent of such 1970s American songwriters as Warren Zevon, Harry Nilsson, Loudon Wainwright III, Harry Chapin, and Randy Newman.

Autobiographical elements, including Sobule's Jewish heritage and her adolescent battles with anorexia and depression, frequently occur in Sobule's writing.

Sobule's debut album Things Here Are Different was released in 1990.

Produced by pop legend Todd Rundgren, the album failed to sell.

During this period a follow-up record was produced by British New Wave rocker Joe Jackson (for whom she opened during 1991) but Sobule was dropped from her label and the second record was never released.

It was five years before Sobule landed another recording contract.

Her 1995 album Jill Sobule established Sobule as part of a fruitful mid-90s movement of female singer-songwriters that included such artists as Lisa Loeb, Juliana Hatfield and Alanis Morissette.

The album contains Sobule's best-known composition "I Kissed a Girl", a story-song about a lesbian flirtation between two suburban girlfriends which became an unlikely radio success thanks in part to a comedic music video featuring beefcake model Fabio.

"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 film Clueless.

The Jill Sobule album seemed to establish Sobule's commercial prospects, but her third album slowed that momentum while setting what has so far been the musical and production patterns for the rest of her career.

1997's Happy Town featured Sobule's most elaborate pop productions to date and contains songs about an eclectic range of topics including reactionary Christianity ("Soldiers of Christ"), the negative impact of anti-depressant medication on the libido ("Happy Town"), and a track that uses Anne Frank's enforced Nazi-era hibernation as the metaphor for a love song ("Attic").

Though embraced by record reviewers from publications as diverse as The Advocate and Entertainment Weekly, Happy Town sold poorly, simultaneously solidifying Sobule's critical reputation while stalling her commercial momentum.

The 2000 record Pink 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 to Alzheimer's disease; and "Mary Kay", about Mary Kay Letourneau, the notorious real-life schoolteacher who became impregnated and was imprisoned as the result of the statutory rape of a 13-year-old male student, whom she married when he reached the age of consent.

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 titled The Folk Years 2003–2003.

In addition to some of her rarer compositions and several tracks that would later receive fuller arrangements on Sobule's next major-label release, Sobule performed offbeat cover versions of such standards as the Doris Day theme song "Que Sera Sera" and "Sunrise, Sunset" from the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof.

The more elaborately recorded Underdog Victorious, also released in 2004, was one of the last albums distributed by legendary personal manager and media entrepreneur Danny Goldberg's now-defunct Artemis Records.

The liquidation of Artemis Records led Sobule to extend her experiments with online music distribution and to relocate from New York City to Los Angeles.

She continued to write and perform prolifically and to compose original music for television, including for the popular Nickelodeon series Unfabulous.

Sobule also acted and performed her songs in writer-director Eric Schaeffer's 2004 film Mind the Gap, as a street musician in Astoria, 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.

In 2009, she released California Years, an album funded entirely by fan donations, making her an early pioneer of crowdfunding.

To date Sobule has released eight studio albums of original songs, four EPs, and a greatest hits compilation album.

Sobule's output also includes original songs available only via the Internet, a cover of Robert Earl Keen's Christmas novelty track "Merry Christmas from the Family," and a version of the late Warren Zevon's "Don't Let Us Get Sick" included on both Sobule's acoustic album and on a posthumous Zevon tribute record.

The subsequent album, California Years, was released on April 14, 2009 on Sobule's own label, Pinko Records.

The pair continue to collaborate, including "Odd Girl Out" for Barone's 2010 album, Glow (Bar/None Records), and to perform together.

Their songs have been used on The West Wing.

On Sobule's next record "Dottie's Charms" in 2014, she put music to lyrics of her friends and favorite authors including David Hajdu, Jonathan Lethem, Vendela Vida and Lucy Sante, with each song relating to individual charms on an antique charm bracelet she had been given.

In 2018, Sobule again used crowd funding to assist with the production of her next album, "Nostalgia Kills".

Rolling Stone listed the first single from the album, "Island of Lost Things", among the 10 best new country and Americana songs.

Since 2020, Sobule has acted as musician-in-residence at the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, an LGBTQIA community center.

In the late 90s, Sobule toured with Richard Barone as "The Richard & Jill Show".

Together they wrote "Bitter" on Happy Town, "Rock Me To Sleep" on Pink Pearl, "Big Shoes" on I Never Learned to Swim, and "Waiting for the Train" on Barone's Clouds Over Eden album.

They also appeared together (as Mr. and Mrs. Sobule) in the underground film Next Year in Jerusalem, which featured another of their compositions, "Everybody's Queer".