(JTA) – Sarah Silverman, Rachel Bloom and an array of indie artists contributed to a tribute album for Adam Schlesinger, the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Jewish songwriter who died of COVID-19 complications on April 1. San Francisco-based Father/Daughter Records released the 31-track album, titled “Saving For a Custom Van,” on Tuesday. The songs are all by Schlesinger and span his career, which included being a songwriting member of the successful pop rock band Fountains of Wayne and a co-writer of the music in Bloom’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” sitcom. Proceeds from the album will benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund, which is “dedicated to helping music industry and community members affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” but the music was also released for free on Bandcamp.
On the album, Silverman sings “Way Back Into Love” – which Schlesinger wrote for the 2007 movie “Music and Lyrics” starring Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant – with Jewish songwriter Ben Lee. Bloom sings the Fountains of Wayne hit “Stacy’s Mom,” which Schlesinger co-wrote. Other noteworthy indie acts who contributed include the rockers Charly Bliss, Motion City Soundtrack and Jeff Rosenstock.
Main Photo: Adam Schlesinger performs with Fountains of Wayne at the Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tenn., in 2007(photo credit: JASON MERRITT/FILMMAGIC FOR SUPERFLY PRESENTS/JTA)