Adam Schlesinger, the brilliant songwriter and frontman for Fountains of Wayne has died at the age of 52.
Schlesinger was hospitalized in upstate New York from complications related to the coronavirus. Earlier this week, members of his other band, Ivy, posted on social media that Schlesinger had been on a ventilator for two weeks and was in a medically induced coma. But on Tuesday, Schlesinger's attorney told Variety that the musician is "very sick and heavily sedated, as are all people on ventilators, but no one has used the word 'coma' to me."
Variety confirmed his passing.
Fountains of Wayne, named after a lawn-ornament store in Schlesinger’s native New Jersey, is best known for their 2003 smash, “Stacy’s Mom.”
But the band’s oeuvre is filled with clever, sardonic lyrics and sumptuous melodies. Among FOW’s musical gems are 1999’s “Utopia Parkway” album (“Red Dragon Tattoo”) and the 2005 compilation, “Out-Of-State Plates” (“The Girl I Can’t Forget”).
During his varied career, Schlesinger earned three Emmys, a Grammy and an Oscar nomination for “That Thing You Do,” the title track of the 1996 Tom Hanks-directed film.
Fans of TV’s “My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” are also familiar with Schlesinger’s tuneful mastery; last year, he, Rachel Bloom and Jack Dolgen scored a Creative Arts Emmy Award for outstanding original music and lyrics for the show.
