Tammy Faye Starlite Pays Tribute To Fallen Singer-Songwriter Jill Sobule

Written By Mike Greenblatt
Tammy Faye Starlite

Hoboken’s Tammy Faye Starlite and Richard Barone of The Bongos co-hosted “Jilith Fair:  Loving Jill Sobule” last month at City Winery in New York City on what would have been the late singer’s 67th birthday. Seventeen records into her 36-year career, she died in a Minnesota house-fire last May. Favorably compared to composers such as Randy Newman, Harry Nillson, Harry Chapin and Warren Zevon, Sobule had an edge, an ironic wit and the balls to incorporate it all in her music. She pioneered crowdfunding upon recording 2009’s California Years solely on the contributions of fans.

During the evening of praise for Sobule by the likes of Tracy Bonham, John Cowsill, Marshall Crenshaw, Madeleine Peyroux, Tony Trischka and others, Starlite performed Sobule’s 2015 “America Back.” It has since been made into a video by Starlite’s longtime Director of her Nico and Marianne Faithful portrayals, Michael Schiralli.

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Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

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