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Adam Schlesinger, award-winning Fountains of Wayne singer, dies from COVID-19

Known for ‘Stacey’s Mom’ and ‘That Thing You Do,’ the singer had been hospitalized for the coronavirus.
 
Adam Schlesinger appears in the press room at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles in 2019.
Adam Schlesinger appears in the press room at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles in 2019. [ RICHARD SHOTWELL | Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP ]
Published April 2, 2020|Updated April 2, 2020

Adam Schlesinger, the singer for alternative group Fountains of Wayne and an award-winning songwriter for film, TV and Broadway, died Wednesday from complications related to the coronavirus.

As Rolling Stone reported, Schlesinger, 52, had been placed on a ventilator and was heavily sedated after being hospitalized and testing positive for COVID-19 in March.

In his prolific and eclectic career, Schlesinger was nominated for Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards for an array of projects. Among them: writing several songs, including the title track, to the 1996 Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do. In the movie, that song propelled a fictional ’60s band, the Oneders, to one-hit-wonder stardom. In real life, it was nominated for an Academy Award.

“There would be no Playtone without Adam Schlesinger, without his That Thing You Do!” Hanks tweeted Wednesday, referring to the film’s fictional Playtone Records. “Terribly sad today.”

Schlesinger’s most popular work came with Fountains of Wayne, which had a minor ’90s hit in Radiation Vibe and a major one a few years later in Stacey’s Mom. He also performed in the indie band Ivy — as well as Tinted Windows, a supergroup featuring Smashing Pumpkins’ James Iha, Hanson’s Taylor Hanson and Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos. He won a Grammy for co-writing Stephen Colbert’s 2008 holiday album A Colbert Christmas, and wrote songs performed by artists ranging from the Monkees to the Jonas Brothers to Jennifer Lopez.

On Broadway, he composed songs for Cry-Baby, based on a John Waters film, and The Bedwetter, an upcoming musical based on Sarah Silverman’s memoir.

And he was a prolific film and television writer, composing songs for films like Josie and the Pussycats and Music and Lyrics and shows like the Tony Awards, Saturday Night Live and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Last year, he won an Emmy for writing a song for that show.

Schlesinger is one of the highest-profile people to die from complications related to the coronavirus, along with Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally and ’90s country hitmaker Joe Diffie.

Related: Country star Joe Diffie, diagnosed with coronavirus, dies at 61

Legendary singer-songwriter John Prine is in critical but stable condition after being hospitalized and placed on a ventilator late last week after showing symptoms of the coronavirus.

Related: Singer John Prine 'critical' in hospital from coronavirus symptoms

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