Steve Harwell, the raspy-voiced former lead singer of Smash Mouth, has died. Per The New York Times, the band’s manager, Robert Hayes, confirmed the cause of Harwell’s death as liver failure on Monday. He was 56.
Born on January 9, 1967, in Santa Clara, California, Harwell spent a career turning the sun-kissed, breezy effervescence of the Golden State into music. Formed in 1994 by Harwell, who previously fronted the rap group F.O.S., and drummer Kevin Coleman, Smash Mouth rose to prominence along with ska revival acts No Doubt and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The band’s platinum-selling debut album Fush Yu Mang included the breakout single “Walkin’ On The Sun,” a punk-tinged 60s throwback by way of The Zombies, that grooved its way into the Billboard top 10 in the mid-90s.
Harwell’s bowling shirt, sunglasses, and spiky hair became the band’s mascot and centerpiece of its many popular music videos. Stealing the spotlight from the likes of Ben Stiller in the video for “All Star,” Harwell walked down a suburban block unbothered by the mayhem around him in the song’s video, unaware of how far the song would take them. Long after Mystery Men left theaters, a sing-along of “All Star” could be trigged by half of the song’s opening word. Harrell’s guttural delivery of “Somebody” is more or less a starting gun for the millions who know the words by heart.
The song and the band’s legacy—and influence on an entire generation of children—would be cemented by its use in the opening credits to Shrek. Smash Mouth would get young listeners coming and going. The band’s cover of The Monkees’ “I’m A Believer” would play after Shrek and Fiona’s happily ever after.
Unfortunately, tragedy would follow the band’s success. Harwell’s infant son of six months died as a result of complications from acute lymphocytic leukemia in the summer of 2001.
In 2013, shortly after the release of the band’s seventh album, Magic, Harwell was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and Wernicke encephalopathy, which affected his motor skills, including speech and memory. The diagnosis dovetailed into the singer’s retirement from Smash Mouth. Shortly after a controversial concert in New York where Harwell was filmed slurring his words and antagonizing the crowd, he announced his exit from the band.
Throughout his career, the frontman never grew tired of the band’s biggest hits. “It’s weird, people ask me, ‘Do you get bored of playing these songs?’” he told Vice in 2014. “You know, there’s always somebody in the crowd who hasn’t heard it. Or hasn’t seen it live. When I go out onstage, I look at it that way. Once that classic song starts, people just go bananas. Has ‘Free Bird’ ever got old?”
