Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell died Monday after suffering liver failure due to alcohol addiction, reports said. He was 56.
The band’s manager, Robert Hayes, confirmed the news in a statement to Rolling Stone, saying the founding vocalist was “surrounded by family and friends” when he “passed peacefully and comfortably” at his home in Boise, Idaho.
“Steve has been retired from Smash Mouth for two years now, and the band continues to tour with new vocalist Zach Goode. That said, Steve’s legacy will live on through the music,” Hayes said.
“With Steve, Smash Mouth has sold over 10 million albums worldwide and topped the charts with two No. 1 hit singles, five Top 40 singles, three Hot 100 singles, four Billboard 200 albums and a Grammy nomination, not to mention the hundreds of film and television placements and of course those musical features in ‘Shrek,’ ” the manager continued.
Hayes also remembered Harwell’s “iconic voice,” adding, Steve lived a 100% full-throttle life, burning brightly across the universe before burning out.”
On Sunday, a representative for Smash Mouth told Entertainment Weekly that Harwell had been placed in hospice care at home after suffering liver failure.
The rep had warned that Harwell had “only a week or so to live” and that friends and family had gathered to visit him over the past few days.
Harwell had been dealing with serious health issues over the years. TMZ reported that the singer had for years dealt with alcohol abuse and addiction issues.
In 2013, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body, per the Mayo Clinic.
Three years later, he was hospitalized after collapsing onstage during a show in Illinois.
The Grammy-nominated band, which formed in 1994 in San Jose, Calif., and scored hits like “Walkin’ on the Sun” and “All Star,” had to postpone several shows in 2017 as Harwell underwent heart treatment.
Additionally, he had been dealing with heart failure, as well as Wernicke encephalopathy, an acute neurological condition that affects the nervous system, according to the National Library of Medicine.
After a disastrous performance at a festival in upstate New York, Harwell had announced in 2021 that he would be retiring from the band.
Hartwell mumble unintelligible lyrics, yelled obscenities at the crowd and gave an apparent Nazi salute as the band attempted to perform behind him at the Big Sip beer and wine festival at Bethel, New York.
Upon his retirement, the singer said he “dreamed of being a rock star” since he was a kid and thanked his bandmates.
“I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with,” he said.
