Apr 1, 2020: Adam Schlesinger, Award-Winning Songwriter—Obituary

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Fountains of Wayne in a photo posted on their Facebook page in 2011. Adam Schlesinger is second from R

Adam Schlesinger, a co-founder of the rock band, Fountains of Wayne, and an award-winning songwriter died April 1, 2020, a victim of the Covid-19 virus.

The news of his poor health, first reported on March 31 by Billboard, was that the musician had been placed in a medically induced coma.

Later that same day, Schlesinger’s representative, Josh Grier, denied that and told the publication that he was on a ventilator, receiving “excellent medical” care. Billboard also shared a statement from Schlesinger’s family: “[Adam]…has been sedated to facilitate his recovery. He is receiving excellent care, his condition is improving and we are cautiously optimistic. His family appreciates all of the love and support.”

Schlesinger, 52, was a Grammy® and Emmy®-winning songwriter. He formed Fountains of Wayne in New York in 1996, with Chris Collingwood, Jody Porter and Brian Young. They took their unique name from an iconic garden store in nearby Wayne, NJ.

The band is perhaps best known for their 2003 song, “Stacy’s Mom,” which reached #21 on the Hot 100. The song earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and Fountains of Wayne were also nominated for Best New Artist.

Though the band had not been active for some time, Schlesinger recruited two of its members for a unique assignment in recent years. He was chosen to producer The Monkees’ 2016 album, Good Times, with Andrew Sandoval. The album was well-received, with Schlesinger receiving strong notices for his work.

Over the years, he had also been involved such the bands Ivy, Tinted Windows and Fever High.

Schlesinger had earned other acknowledgments from his peers, earning an Academy Award nomination in 1997 for writing the title track for the Tom Hanks-directed film, That Thing You Do.

There would be no Playtone without Adam Schlesinger, without his That Thing You Do! He was a One-der. Lost him to Covid-19. Terribly sad today. Hanx

— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) April 2, 2020

In 2008, he earned two Tony Award nominations, with David Javerbaum, for Best Musical and Best Original Score for Cry-Baby. The same pair received Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for two separate collaborations.

Schlesinger was collaborating with Sarah Silverman on a musical entitled The Bedwetter, based on her best-selling book of the same name. The production was scheduled to open off-Broadway on April 25, 2020, but was delayed due to the pandemic. It finally opened in 2022.

Related: Musicians we lost in 2020