In this edition of Across The Tracks we salute the music artists that passed away in 2020.
Featured in the program: Uriah Heep, Hal Ketchum, McGuire Sisters, Mountain, KT Oslin, Charlie Pride, Van Halen, Spencer Davis Group, Rance Allen, Billy Joe Shaver, Johnny Nash, Outfield, Helen Reddy, Mac Davis, Four Seasons, Kool & The Gang, Bay City Rollers, Sweet, Wayne Fontana, Fleetwood Mac, Charlie Daniels Band, Bobby Lewis, Millie Small, Bonnie Pointer, John Prine, Fountains of Wayne, Kingston Trio, Robert Parker and Rush.
Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. He won three Emmys, a Grammy, and the ASCAP Pop Music Award, and was nominated for Oscar, Tony and Golden Globe Awards.
He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows. He was a key songwriting contributor and producer for Brooklyn-based synth-pop duo Fever High. Schlesinger grew up in Manhattan and Montclair, New Jersey.
On January 30, 1999 Schlesinger married Katherine Michel, a graphic designer and Yale graduate. They met in 1996 at WXOU Radio Bar, a bar that Schlesinger used to frequent with Fountains of Wayne co-founder Chris Collingwood when they were starting the band. They divorced in 2013. Schlesinger and Michel have two daughters, Sadie and Claire.
On April 1, 2020, Schlesinger died at the age of 52 as a result of health complications caused by COVID-19. He had been hospitalized and placed on a ventilator two weeks prior to his death.