The New York City-based power pop band Fountains of Wayne was anchored by the singer/songwriter duo of Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, who first teamed in 1986 while studying at Ma**achusetts' Williams College. Sharing a mutual affection for melodic British pop, they formed a series of short-lived bands before recording an LP under the name Pinnwheel; legal ha**les blocked the album's release, however, and the duo went their separate ways, with Schlesinger resurfacing in the NYC indie-pop band ... Show more...

The New York City-based power pop band Fountains of Wayne was anchored by the singer/songwriter duo of Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, who first teamed in 1986 while studying at Ma**achusetts' Williams College. Sharing a mutual affection for melodic British pop, they formed a series of short-lived bands before recording an LP under the name Pinnwheel; legal ha**les blocked the album's release, however, and the duo went their separate ways, with Schlesinger resurfacing in the NYC indie-pop band Ivy and Collingwood joining the Boston country group Mercy Buckets. They reunited in 1996 as Fountains of Wayne (so named in honor of a New Jersey gift shop), issuing their acclaimed self-titled LP on Atlantic; that same year, Schlesinger also enjoyed success as the author of the title theme to Tom Hanks' rock'n'roll movie That Thing You Do! br /br /"That Thing You Do" went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song in 1997. Their sophomore effort, Utopia Parkway, followed in 1999 and single the "Denise" was a hit at college radio. Four years later, the band issued Welcome Interstate Managers, the biggest popular success of their career thanks to "Stacy's Mom," a hit across several charts and their first Top 40 entry. Two new songs, plenty of unreleased material, and all the fan favorites were collected on the double disc Out-Of-State Plates in 2005. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide