Adam Schlesinger was an award-winning songwriter best known to many as bassist for the power pop group Fountains of Wayne. Also a co-founder of the indie pop bands Ivy and Tinted Windows, he balanced band membership with work as a producer/engineer and as a songwriter for film (That Thing You Do!, Music and Lyrics), TV (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Sesame Street), and theater (Cry-Baby: The Musical).
Born in New York City on October 31, 1967, into a musical family (violinist/producer Murray Bernthal was his grandfather), Schlesinger began taking piano lessons at age five. After play...