RIP Adam Schlesinger (Patreon)

Yesterday Adam Schlesinger passed away from Covid-19.  I was crushed when my wife told me he died. I was a huge fan of his work – maybe you were too.

It’s understandable if you’re thinking, Who is Adam Schlesinger?  He wasn’t a household name, but his work was well-known. He was an amazing songwriter. A genius, in my opinion. He was the co-founder of the band, Fountains of Wayne, and he also wrote a slew of songs for TV and movies. 

Schlesinger’s big break was writing the title song for the 1996 movie, “That Thing You Do.” Yesterday Tom Hanks praised him on Twitter.

Fountains of Wayne is one of my favorite bands and I’ve drawn many, many cartoons while listening to their music. When I’m drawing, I either listen to music or podcasts. And from about 2003-2006, Fountains of Wayne was my main music choice while drawing. (I still listen to them—I love that band—but I mix it up a little more these days.) 

This Bobby Biddle cartoon isn’t one of my popular cartoons, but it’s one of my personal favorites. It was inspired by a Fountains of Wayne song called “Hung Up on You.”  When I was writing this comic, the melody of Hung Up on You was in my head the whole time. Every time I see this cartoon, I think of Fountains of Wayne. 

Fountains of Wayne wasn’t a country band, but Schlesinger could write a song in any genre. And he was brilliant at capturing the essence of a music era in a song, like he did with "That Thing You Do." He also wrote several fake '80s pop songs for the 2007 movie, Music and Lyrics.

One of my favorite Fountains of Wayne songs is "Valley Winter Song."  It has a mellow and melancholy vibe and I listened to it a few times last night after hearing the news about Adam.