Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger dies of coronavirus complications at 52
Emmy and Grammy award-winning songwriter and Fountains of Wayne co-founder Adam Schlesinger died Wednesday morning of complications from coronavirus, EW has confirmed. He was 52.
Schlesinger had been receiving care in an upstate New York Hospital for more than a week. His bandmate Chris Collingwood shared a family status update regarding Schlesinger's health on Tuesday, which thanked fans for their good wishes.
"Thank you for the outpouring of love for Adam and his family," he shared in a statement from Schlesinger's family on Twitter. "He's on a ventilator and 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 the love and support."
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Schlesinger is best known for his contributions to the Grammy-nominated alternative rock band Fountains of Wayne, who were behind the hit 2003 song "Stacy's Mom." The group, named after a New Jersey fountain shop, broke through in 1996 with their first single "Radiation Vibe." Over the course of five critically-acclaimed albums, the band developed a devoted following of fans who admired the way Schlesinger and frontman Collingwood wove delightful story songs into perfect pop packaging. Schlesinger, who played bass and sang harmony vocals, was also a member of the indie pop collective Ivy and the supergroup Tinted Windows with James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins, Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick, and Taylor Hanson of Hanson.
Thanks everyone for all your kind words of sympathy and support. Answering everyone will take a long time. My thoughts are with Adam's children and his parents, who treated me as one of their own
— Chris Collingwood (@lookpark) April 3, 2020
He also successfully used his musical talents in television, film, and theater on projects like 1996's That Thing You Do!, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe nomination for the title track. He also coached Hugh Grant for the movie Music and Lyrics. He more recently found acclaim as a music producer on Rachel Bloom's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, earning a total of five Emmy nominations, and winning three during his run on the series.
In 2008, he received a Tony nomination alongside collaborator David Javerbaum for their original music contributions to the 2008 Broadway musical Cry-Baby, based on the John Waters film of the same name. It was his first time working in theater.
He earned a Grammy award in 2010 for his collaboration on Steven Colbert’s A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! with Javerbaum.
Throughout his music career, he worked with many notable names as a record producer and mixer, including The Monkees, Dashboard Confessional, Robert Plant and Fastball.
His latest project was the off-Broadway play The Bedwetter with Sarah Silverman, which was set to debut this spring but was delayed due to the pandemic.
He is survived by his ex-wife Katherine Michel, and their two daughters, Sadie and Claire.
For the latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19), including how to protect yourself and what to do if you think you are sick, please visit coronavirus.gov.
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