Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell passes away at 56

It doesn’t matter if you grew up during the band’s height of popularity because Smash Mouth has transcended generations and music thanks to the success of the group’s global smash hit, All-Star. Today, the group’s lead singer, Steve Harwell, was found dead at the age of 56.

As a founding member of Smash Mouth, Steve Harwell helped form the group back in 1994 and the group quickly found success with the release of their debut album Fush Yu Mang thanks to the singles Walkin’ On The Sun and a cover of the WAR song, Why Can’t We Be Friends that was used in the 1998 film starring Kevin Bacon, Wild Things. Although the album would go double platinum, Harwell and Smash Mouth would achieve global fame upon the release of their sophomore effort, Astro Lounge, thanks to the smash hit single All Star.

An incredible mix of rock and pop, All Star would appear in commercials, and movies, and become a staple for sporting events for years to come. While the group would never regain the success of this era, they would continue to perform on stages around the world and release music as the impact and legacy of their early work ensured a solid following and passion for the group. Unfortunately, Harwell was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and Wernicke encephalopathy in 2013, and the health issues became public when he collapsed on stage during a concert in 2016. Things came to a head during a performance in Bethel Woods, NY in 2021 when the singer appeared intoxicated and aggressive on stage, causing him to retire from the group, citing his health as the cause for the outburst.

On September 4th, 2023, a day after it was revealed that Steve Harwell was in hospice due to chronic liver failure, the singer passed away at the age of 56. In honor of the late vocalist, relive the magic of All Star and may he rest in peace.

Image Credit: Eva Rinaldi via Flickr | License Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)