Watch Ben Gibbard Cover Fountains of Wayne's 'Barbara H' in Tribute to Adam Schlesinger
honored following his death by performing a cover of ’s “Barbara H” during his recurring live stream concert.
The singer also shared a memory of Schlesinger, who died from complications of coronavirus on April 2nd, although the pair never met. Towards the end of the live stream, around the 41-minute mark, Gibbard reflected on the musician’s death, noting that it’s “further bringing this horrible reality home that it’s not just old and feeble people who may lose their lives from this, but people who are, for intents and purposes, healthy and middle aged.”
“I never got to meet Adam,” Gibbard said. “We had a lot of connective tissue, a lot of friends in common, but we never had a chance to actually meet. But I owe him a huge debt of gratitude because he was integral in picking Gibbard’s song] ‘Me & Magdalena’ for the Monkees to record four years ago. I always thought, as one always does in life, that you’ll have plenty of time to say ‘Thank you’ or ‘I love you’ or to give somebody a compliment or what have you. That day obviously did not come.”
He added, “But to the bottom of my heart, I’m so grateful for him to help me realize a life-long dream, which was to write a song that would be recorded by the Monkees, a band that I grew up listening to.”
Gibbard has been performing daily concerts YouTube throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and recently announced he’ll move to a weekly format, going live Thursdays at 6 p.m. PST. The singer told Rolling Stone that connecting live with fans has helped him find meaning during this difficult time, especially since each episode raises money for a charity or organization.
“It’s given me a purpose, not that being at home and being a good husband and working on music is not a purpose,” Gibbard said. “But, you know, in these uncertain times, it’s been really helpful to me and my mental health to know, ‘OK, it’s 4 p.m. I gotta have a job. I can’t disappoint these people. I have to get on the computer and play music.’”