Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, who had a hit with I Kissed a Girl, dead after house fire [Video]

Jill Sobule, the award-winning singer-songwriter whose witty and poignant writing first attracted widespread attention with the song I Kissed a Girl, died in a house fire Thursday. She was 66.

Her death was confirmed by her publicist, David Elkin, in an email Thursday afternoon. It was not immediately clear how the fire in Woodbury, Minn., started.

“Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,” John Porter, her manager, said in a statement. “I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory, and legacy continue to live on and inspire others.”

During her more than three decades of recording, Sobule released 12 albums that addressed such complex topics as the death penalty, anorexia nervosa, reproduction and 2SLGBTQ+ issues.

Her first album, Things Here Are Different, was released in 1990. Five years later, she received widespread attention for …