Biography
The son of amateur musicians, Adam Schlesinger began performing in bands during his high school days. While attending Williams College, he met Chris Collingwood, with whom he formed a songwriting and performing partnership. After stints in other bands (including The Belltower and Ivy), Schlesinger joined with Collingwood to form Fountains of Wayne. Their self-titled debut album, which featured strong melodies in the 1960s pop style offset by knowing lyrics, was released in 1996. In the meantime, Schlesinger had begun to become established in TV, providing music for the short-lived John Leguizamo series "House of Buggin'" (Fox, 1995), Hazelle Goodman's HBO comedy special (1995) and the short-lived "The Dana Carvey Show" (ABC, 1996). The songwriter contributed three tunes to the soundtrack of Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do!" (1996), including the bouncy and infectious title tune. Written in the style of the 60s hits, with influences of groups like the Beatles and the Beach Boys, the ditty earned Schlesinger an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Fountains of Wayne went on to record a total of four albums, scoring the pop hit "Stacy's Mom" off 2002's Welcome Interstate Managers. Schlesinger continued to work with other artists and on film and TV projects after Fountains of Wayne split, most notably working with Rachel Bloom on the songs for her musical comedy-drama "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (CW 2015-19). Adam Schlesinger died on April 1, 2020 in New York at the age of 52, after having contracted the COVID-19 virus.
