There are a lot of people out there that may not have ever heard the name Jill Sobule. For those who have, they may have thought of her as a one-hit wonder. They may say, "Oh, she's the one that did that girl kissing girl song.". And for the rest of us, Jill Sobule was much more than that.
Those who were a part of the late 90's and early 00's singer-songwriter scene know Jill for more than that hit. Her song "Supermodel", which on the same album as that one-hit wonder, could be considered an anthem for people who saw images on television and the movies and wanted to be just like those stunning women.
Being on the radio at the time, playing singer-songwriters all the time starting in the early 2000's, I played a lot of Jill Sobule. Her "Pink Pearl" record was full of deceptively happy songs. Tunes like "Rainy Day Parade", "Mexican Wrester" and "Claire" on the surface seemed like happy songs but were about what was underneath those facades.
It was around the release of her "Underdog Victorious" album that I first met Jill. She stopped by the station while on tour and sat down for an interview. I remember how she had this energy about her. She was down to earth and a force of nature at the same time.
She played a show for the station around that time as well. She did this wonderful version of Destiny's Child "Survivor" and led everyone in the room to clap along. Everyone in the room followed along and was smiling as this woman of such small stature stood tall and covered a song that would have been "uncool" to the crowd. But boy, did she turn us all around on that idea.
I had a heavy heart when I found out the news of Jill's tragic death. As anyone would do when they hear of people they know passing, I googled her name. Among the sites I found were a few that spoke of Jill being a champion for them. They wrote of Jill being a trailblazer for them. It was then I was struck by how much she meant to that community.
In the late 90s that big hit she had was a weird quirky song to a lot of us about a girl kissing a girl. That could have become an anthem for people who felt just like the girl kissing Jenny just as "Supermodel" struck a chord for people who wanted to be like those perfect people in magazines and on TV. Her music was about more than just a women suffering from dementia or someone who laughs harder, is wiser, and is smarter as a survivor.
You may have stumbled upon this post while searching about Jill Sobule. If you have, I wanted to let you know that Jill was more than just a one-hit wonder to me and to a lot of people. She was a trailblazer, a singer-songwriter, a force of nature, and one of the nicest humans I've ever met.
