RIP: A Salute To Smash Mouth Lead Vocalist, Steve Harwell

The frontman of the popular rock-pop band Smash Mouth, Steve Harwell, passed away at 56 yesterday. His manager, Robery Hayes, announced the singer’s death to Rolling Stone, stating that Harwell “passed peacefully and comfortably” in the comfort of family and friends on Monday, 4th September.

Harwell has had several ailments for decades, including the heart disease cardiomyopathy and the neurological disorder Wernicke encephalopathy, which affected his speech and memory. However, his cause of death was acute liver failure.

Steve Harwell was a true American Original. A larger than life character who shot up into the sky like a Roman candle. Steve will be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned determination to reach the heights of pop stardom.
Rest in peace knowing you aimed for the… pic.twitter.com/qZDliiIl30

— Smash Mouth (@smashmouth) September 4, 2023

Born in California in 1967, Harwell formed Smash Mouth in 1994 with his former manager and longtime friend Kevin Coleman, who introduced him to two other musicians in San Jose. They achieved their first minor success in 1997 with a song from their first album titled “Walkin’ On The Sun”. From that point on, he also made several appearances on television and radio shows and even had a cameo in the 2001 film “Rat Race”. However, he would experience his biggest break yet with his popular song “All Star” from their second studio album, “Astro Lounge”, released in 1999.

This song was also immortalised in the 2001 hit animated film “Shrek.” This resulted in several memes and parodies that would follow them throughout the next two decades, but it also kept them in the minds of the people on the internet, becoming a mainstay in popular culture, with the song itself reaching a billion streams on Spotify.

However, in the same year “Shrek” hit theatres, Harwell suffered a great tragedy when he lost his six-month-old son, Presley, to leukemia. Despite this, he continued to work and even created a medical research fund in Presley’s name.

Throughout his life, Harwell struggled with alcoholism. In 2013, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and Wernicke encephalopathy. During a live performance in 2016, Harwell collapsed on stage and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, with his bandmate taking over the vocals to finish the show. He was urged to retire several times due to his declining health, which even resulted in the cancellation of a show in 2017.

The band performed at a beer and wine festival at Bethel Woods Centre for the Arts in Bethel, New York, in October 2021, where Harwell appeared to be intoxicated, threatening audience members, and performing what appeared to be a Nazi salute. Following this scandal, Harwell announced his retirement due to health issues.

Sources: CBC, The Guardian, Wikimedia Commons [1], [2], YouTube