Adam Schlesinger

With an impressive list of credits to his name (including being a member of not just one, but two, eminent indie/power pop bands), Adam Schlesinger did much to establish himself as one of the busiest, hardest-working musicians of the '90s and beyond. Born on October 31, 1967, into a family with predominant musical backgrounds, Schlesinger began taking piano lessons at age five. After playing in bands throughout high school, he headed off to Williams College in Massachusetts, where he soon met guitarist/songwriter Chris Collingwood. The pair began writing and playing music together in a number of different bands while finishing their degrees, and they eventually recorded an unreleased album under the name of Pinnwheel. In 1991, Schlesinger left Massachusetts for New York (effectively dissolving his musical partnership with Collingwood), and by 1993, he was taken aboard as the bass player for the indie pop trio Ivy.

Ivy released their debut album, Realistic, in early 1995; in the meantime, Schlesinger stayed busy with a number of other projects, including composing tracks for television programs and commercials. He also penned the title track for the Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do!, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. In late 1995, Schlesinger became a principal in the newly formed Scratchie Records label, a business venture begun in part with D'Arcy and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins. It was around this time that Chris Collingwood (now also living in New York) got back in touch with Schlesinger to play him a few new tracks he had written. Impressed with what he heard, Schlesinger reunited with Collingwood, and together they quickly proceeded to write a large batch of new songs that would become the basis for their new project, Fountains of Wayne. Fountains of Wayne released their self-titled debut album in late 1996; the follow-up, Utopia Parkway, appeared a couple years later in 1998. Meanwhile, Schlesinger remained a part of Ivy, who released Apartment Life in 1997 and Long Distance in 2001. Both bands continued to release material as the early 2000s progressed, and Schlesinger expanded his reach by also appearing on a number of recordings by other artists, in the various roles of producer, songwriter, and performer.