Fountains of Wayne Member Adam Schlesinger Dies From COVID-19
New York - Adam Schlesinger, most known for his band Fountains of Wayne died April 1 from complications due to the Coronavirus. He passed yesterday in an upstate-New York hospital and leaves behind wife Katherine Michel, and two daughters.
In an article from the Associated Press, a longtime lawyer and friend said it is unclear how he contracted the virus. He had already been on a ventilator for several days.
Schlesinger was best-known for his work in his band Fountains of Wayne. Which had the hits "Radiation Vibe" and "Stacy's Mom", which was nominated for a Grammy in 2003. He won a Grammy for the Best Comedy Album with co-writer David Javerbaum on "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All" which was performed by Stephen Colbert and Elvis Costello.
He also contributed to the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, starring Rachel Bloom which aired on the CW.
Across his career, he was nominated for 10 Emmys and won three for different comical songs for various TV shows.
Schlesinger was also nominated for an Oscar for writing the title track in the 1997 movie "That Thing You Do". Which was written, directed, and starred Tom Hanks.
In the movie, the fictional band called the "One-ders"... (later changed in the movie to the Wonders) writes a hit pop song and is picked up by a label called Playtone. Director Tom Hanks used the Playtone name for his production company.
Tom Hanks said on Twitter, "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."
Rachel Bloom tweeted, "I have so much to say about Adam Schlesinger that I am at a complete loss for words," she tweeted Wednesday night. "He is irreplaceable."
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter that Schlesinger's death "is a sad loss for Jersey's music scene."
