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Fountains of Wayne (Adam Schlesinger Is Far Right)

Apr 01, 2020 By Christopher Roberts Fountains of Wayne

Singer/songwriter Adam Schlesinger, of Fountains of Wayne, has died due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. As Rolling Stone reports, he was previously hospitalized and on a ventilator for the last two weeks, but passed away this morning at a hospital in Upstate New York.

Schlesinger was born on Halloween in 1967 and grew up in Montclair, New Jersey and in Manhattan. It was in New York that Fountains of Wayne was formed in 1995, with Schlesinger alongside Chris Collingwood, Jody Porter, and Brian Young. The power-pop band was best known for their 2003 single “Stacy’s Mom” (the song’s video currently has over 116 million views on YouTube). The band released five full-length albums, stretching from 1996’s Fountains of Wayne to 2011’s Sky Full of Holes.

Outside of the band, Schlesinger was well regarded for his film, TV, and theater work. He wrote and co-produced the title song from 1996’s That Thing You Do!, a film directed by and co-starring Tom Hanks about a fictional band in the 1960s. He also wrote and produced three songs for Music and Lyrics, the romantic comedy that starred Hugh Grant as a washed up ’80s pop star and Drew Barrymore as his new songwriting partner. He also wrote songs for the Broadway adaptation of John Waters’ film Crybaby, as well as for The CW TV comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (which he was the executive music producer of).

Schlesinger was also involved in the side-projects Ivy and Tinted Windows (a supergroup with members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Hanson, and Cheap Trick). Through it all he won three Emmys, a Grammy, and the ASCAP Pop Music Award, and was nominated for Oscar, Tony, and Golden Globe awards.

Schlesinger is survived by his two daughters, Sadie and Claire, with his ex-wife Katherine Michel.

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