Posted on 04/01/2020 4:09:40 PM PDT by Borges
Adam Schlesinger, a musician and songwriter highly regarded for his work as a member of Fountains of Wayne and an Emmy-winning songwriter for TV’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” has died as a result of coronavirus complications, Variety has confirmed. He was 52.
Schlesinger passed away Wednesday morning. He was divorced and is survived by two daughters.
Schlesinger had previously been reported Tuesday morning as “very sick and heavily sedated” by his attorney of 25 years, Josh Grier. Schlesinger had been in an upstate New York hospital for more than a week at that time, Grier said.
An EGOT contender, Schlesinger has been nominated for Oscars, Tonys, Grammys and Emmys and won the latter two awards. At the 2018 Emmys, he was up for two trophies for his “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” work and picked up one, winning in the outstanding original music and lyrics category for the song “Antidepressants Are So Not A Big Deal” (shared with the show’s star, Rachel Bloom, and Jack Dolgen). He was a 10-time Emmy nominee in all, five of those for “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” for which he served as executive music producer. Five more nominations came for his contributions to the Tony Awards, “Sesame Street” and a Stephen Colbert Christmas special.
His Oscar nomination in 1997 was for co-writing the theme song for the Tom Hanks-directed film “That Thing You Do!,” one of his first successful forays outside the realm of his own music-making with Fountains of Wayne. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe at that time.
Fountains of Wayne, the band he co-founded with Chris Collingwood, earned two Grammy nominations in 2003, for best new artist (many years after the band’s actual recording debut) and for best pop performance by a group for the Top 40 single “Stacy’s Mom,” a cheeky MTV staple that became the band’s biggest hit. His lone Grammy win, though, came for best comedy album for his work on “A Stephen Colbert Christmas.”
His two Tony nominations were both for the musical “Cry-Baby,” an adaptation of the John Waters film, in 2008. He had recently collaborated with Sarah Silverman on his first full stage score since then, for an off-Broadway musical, “The Bedwetter,” which had been scheduled to open at the Atlantic Theater Company this spring. Tony winners Linda Lavin and Stephanie J. Block had been set to star in the limited-run production from April 25 through May 20 before pandemic-related shutdowns put a halt to New York theater efforts.
Although he was a member of the bands Tinted Windows and Ivy, he is best regarded among rock fans for the five albums he recorded with Fountains of Wayne between 1996 and 2011. Dissent between him and Collingwood during the recording of “Sky Full of Holes” led to that being their apparent swan song, although reviews for that final album were, typically for the group, raves. “Welcome Interstate Managers” in 2003, the album that generated “Stacey’s Mom” (and its Rachel Hunter-starring video), remained their most popular work.
Never heard of “Stacey’s Mom” ?
How deep in the Hovel have you been digging?
Sometimes the Old Crusties on FR creep me out.
Just because there’s snow on the roof, doesn’t mean there is no fire in the belly.
I like music from my early days, but also the music and culture from all ages! Every new generation contributes. Some great, some no-so-great, some so bad that it actually becomes great for it’s rediculousness.
Smell-O-Vision? Popeil Pocket Fisherman? Sea Monkeys? The Monkeys? Plan 9 From Outer Space? I Was a Teenage Werewolf? Hiding under your desk for The Bomb?
Come on folks, we’ve all be there done that.
Embrace the Cheese. The stankier the better.
Sorry to hear it. Fountains of Wayne was a great band.
R.I.P. Adam.
Great band with a lot of clever songs.
I wonder if he was allowed to have the Trump Cure medication or did the Governors directives not allow that.
Not a drug addict.
That song is so addicting!!
Really fun movie :)
The guitarist who’s always clowning around was great.
I still like Radiation Vibe better.
“Not a drug addict.”
Unlikely.
Great post :)
My cousin is my age (51) and is great at sending me new rock songs.
I must admit i’ve gotten into the rut of not listening to anything new.
Maybe now with so much time it’s a good time to start.
Ignore all of the walking-dead posts.
LOL - Stacy’s Mom - HELL YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to hear this. I was always partial to his work with Ivy.
What makes you think he was a drug addict? The woman I'm currently in a band with was a good friend of his and speaks very highly of him.
Also, very many people have heard of him and his band, Fountains of Wayne. I was not a fan of his music, but it was loved by many. One of his songs has over 100 million views on YouTube.
uh not really. sad he passed, but he’s not well known!
Never picked up on that - but it's pretty well spelled out in the video.
The theme is a great song, and it’s a treat watching it evolve through several versions in the film. I absolutely love the chord progression and often play along with a karaoke-version.com recording where I can turn off the lead guitar and substitute my own.
Damn, this virus is causing some damage... R.I.P. Adam ☹️
Their 1st album was a classic. Underrated band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-pcoWdqXnQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAwKl3dTMZs
You responded to the wrong person.
The kid made up to look like Ric Ocasek is hilarious.
"Stacy's Mom" reminded me of the awesome film, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".
The Stacy's Mom video is GREAT! Check it out.
One song from Fountains of Wayne that sticks with me is, "Bright Future in Sales". Love it!
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