Billie Joe Armstrong reflects on Adam Schlesinger’s death: “COVID is ravaging through America. You start seeing good people die from it”
Armstrong also noted John Prine as another music great lost to the disease.
Images: Kevin Winter / Jason Merritt / Getty
Billie Joe Armstrong has reflected on the death of Fountains Of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, who lost his life to COVID-19 in April of this year. He was 52.
Asked by NME about how he paid tribute to the late Shlesinger, Armstrong lamented the seriousness of the ongoing pandemic, saying: “COVID was, and still is, just ravaging through America. You start seeing good people die from it. Adam is one and John Prine is another.”
John Prine, remembered as one of the best songwriters of all time, also died in April of this year from COVID-19, less than a week after Schlesinger.
“I’ve always had so much respect for Adam as a songwriter,” Armstrong continued, “and I just love this song.” He’s referring to his cover of That Thing You Do!, which was released as part of Green Day’s No Fun Mondays in tribute to Shlesinger.
“I thought I could do a version that was a little bit dirtier by beefing up the guitar,” he said. “Doing No Fun Mondays was like just doing my own radio sessions where I had a captive audience, but could release songs in time with where the consciousness of the culture was at, at that particular moment.”
You can hear Armstrong’s cover above.
In other Green Day news, the band’s secret side project The Network announced their second LP – following a not-insignificant wait of 17 years. It follows a short surprise EP by the band, which arrived last week.
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