Songwriter Adam Schlesinger, best known for co-founding Fountains of Wayne, has been hospitalized due to the coronavirus, but has not been placed in a medically induced coma as suggested elsewhere. Variety first reported the news and Schlesinger’s long-time attorney, Josh Grier, confirmed the details to Rolling Stone.
Schlesinger has been in a hospital in upstate New York for over a week and is receiving good care. Grier said that while he can’t go visit Schlesinger, the doctor reports he’s received have not once used the term “coma,” but rather stated that the musician is heavily sedated, as is necessary to be on a ventilator. Grier added, “The doctors are doing everything they can think of and they’re cautiously optimistic.”
News of Schlesinger’s condition first began to spread on a Facebook fan page for his other band, Ivy. That post, which was later shared on Twitter, cited information posted by an acquaintance of Schlesinger’s, who stated the musician had been on a ventilator for two weeks and was supposedly in a medically induced coma.
Schlesinger co-founded Fountains of Wayne with Chris Collingwood, and the group is best known for their Grammy-nominated hit “Stacy’s Mom,” off their 2003 album, Welcome to Interstate Managers.
Along with playing in two other bands, Ivy and Tinted Windows, Schlesinger has had a wildly prolific music career that’s found him writing for television, film and the theater. He notably earned an Oscar nomination for writing the title track to Tom Hanks’ 1997 film, That Thing You Do, while he’s won three Emmys during his career, two for songs he wrote for the Tony Awards in 2011 and 2012, and one for his work on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.