Steve Harwell, the Grammy-nominated pop-rock band Smash Mouth’s longtime frontman, died of extreme liver failure. He was 56. Harwell “handed peacefully and comfortably” on Monday morning at his residence in Boise, Idaho, the place he was accompanied by household and mates, based on the band’s supervisor, Robert Hayes.
Smash Mouth was well-known for smash songs resembling All Star and Then The Morning Comes.
“Steve Harwell was an unique American.” Hayes described the persona as “a larger-than-life determine who shot up into the sky like a Roman candle.” “Steve needs to be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned dedication to succeed in the heights of pop stardom.”
Harwell, who was born in California in 1967, was a member of the rap group F.O.S. (Freedom of Speech) earlier than founding Smash Mouth in 1994.
Regardless of receiving native radio airplay for his or her debut single Large Black Boots, Harwell disbanded the band after listening to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s game-changing work on The Persistent and sensing that the fashion of rap was about to change.
He detoured into different rock, jamming with an outdated acquaintance, drummer Kevin Coleman, and ultimately forming Smash Mouth with Greg Camp and Paul De Lisle.
Their mix of pop, ska, surf, and punk, in addition to retro 60s vibes, produced an early hit within the type of Walkin’ On The Solar, which topped Billboard’s fashionable rock charts and enabled their debut album Fush Yu Mang be a part of the Prime 40.
Smash Mouth Outplayed Critics
Some critics dismissed Smash Mouth as a one-hit marvel, however their second album Astro Lounge in 1999 proved them mistaken. It went triple platinum and featured the songs Can’t Get Sufficient of You Child and the tremendously catchy All Star – a music that “inexplicably mesmerised the world for 20 years,” based on Rolling Stone journal.
“The songs are extra unfold out, much less quick and livid,” Harwell advised the journal in 1999 of the band’s second album.
His uncommon, raspy rap-singing voice was immediately identifiable, and quite a few of Smash Mouth’s tracks grew to become viral.
Though the band by no means had one other hit on the identical scale, later albums Smash Mouth (2001), Get the Image? (2003), Summer time Woman (2006), and Magic (2012) demonstrated the band’s persistent skill to create glowing pop songs.
Harwell’s private tragedy occurred in 2001, when his new child son Presley died on account of problems from acute lymphocytic leukaemia. In response to studies, the musician assisted within the institution of a medical analysis fund in his son’s honour.
Alcohol Abuse and Dangerous Well being
Harwell raised $15,000 for a youngsters’s hospital ten years later after accepting a dare to eat 24 eggs. Nonetheless, his personal dangerous well being and reported alcohol utilization had an influence on a number of performances over time.
He collapsed on stage at an Illinois music competition in 2016. The subsequent yr, a gig in Memphis was cancelled as a result of he couldn’t breathe throughout the soundcheck. In 2018, he felt unwell throughout a gig in Australia and needed to go away the stage; the band continued with out him.
Within the yr 2020, he dismissed the seriousness of Covid-19 in entrance of a giant crowd throughout a biker occasion in South Dakota. The Nationwide Institute of Well being later categorised the gathering a superspreader occasion, and Smash Mouth stated they acquired hate mail for performing there.
In response to TMZ, his fiancée on the time, Esther Campbell, obtained a restraining order towards him the identical yr.
Harwell stated in a press release asserting his retirement in 2021, “I’ve tried so exhausting to energy by my bodily and psychological well being points, and to play in entrance of you one final time, however I simply wasn’t capable of.”
In response to the band’s administration, “Steve needs to be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned dedication to succeed in the heights of pop stardom.”
“And the truth that he achieved this near-impossible feat with little or no musical expertise provides to his achievements.”
“His solely weapons had been his unstoppable attraction and charisma, his fearlessly reckless ambition, and his king-sized cajones.”
“Good night, Heevo Veev. Relaxation simple realizing that you just shot for the celebrities and magically hit your goal. Those that knew and beloved him will miss him tremendously.”
Smash Mouth’s lineup has modified a number of instances over time, with bassist Paul De Lisle remaining the one unique member, and Zach Goode taking up as lead singer after Harwell resigned.
