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Remembering Fountains Of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, Who Has Died Of COVID-19 Complications
Adam Schlesinger poses for a photo at the ASCAP/Tribeca Music Lounge at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival on May 4, 2007 in New York City. (Scott Gries/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
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Adam Schlesinger, known for being part of Fountains of Wayne and writing music for everything from That Thing You Do to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, has died from coronavirus complications.
His death was confirmed by our friends at NPR through his lawyer, Josh Grier.
Schlesinger, 52, had been previously reported Tuesday as being "very sick and heavily sedated," according to Variety.
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The band broke onto the pop charts with "Stacy's Mom," but was known by fans for smart, sardonic power-pop. Their strength as pop craftsmen landed them a gig composing the songs for the Beatles-esque Wonders in Tom Hanks' tribute to '60s pop, That Thing You Do.
His work brought him widespread acclaim, including Grammy and Emmy wins as well as Oscar and Tony nominations. He wrote songs for all our favorite things — among his award-winning songs was "Antidepressants Are So Not A Big Deal" from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. He continued to write for stage and screen, including working on a musical with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rachel Bloom based on CBS sitcom The Nanny.
There's been an outpouring of support for him from his friends, fellow musicians, and fans since the news of his illness broke Tuesday.
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
For Adam Schlesinger • Gutted to hear that Adam Schlesinger is fighting for his life against COVID-19. Huge inspiration to me. #fountainsofwayne pic.twitter.com/F70SNsiwTs
— Barenaked Ladies (@barenakedladies) March 31, 2020
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Raising my head above water to say that I’m grieving Adam Schlesinger. I know so many people who knew him much better than I did, and I’m grieving for them as well. Love to you all in trying times.
— Ted Leo (@tedleo) April 1, 2020
Listen to Schlesinger with Fountains of Wayne in an NPR Tiny Desk Concert here:
You can also read a 2009 interview Schlesinger did with LAist. He shared with us the story of getting the gig to write "That Thing You Do":
"That was just a lucky break. I had a deal with a music publishing company at the time. The people there had heard about the film. They said, "This is something you should take a crack at. It's kind of up your alley." So I wrote that song and did a demo with some friends. Miraculously they picked it out of the pile and decided that it was the song they wanted to use."
This story was updated with confirmation of the death by NPR.
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