The lead singer Steve Harwell of the American rock band Smash Month has been confirmed dead at 56 by their band manager Robert Hayes. Harwell was best known for their hits “All-Star” and “I’m a Believer” was found dead in his Boise Idaho home “surrounded by family and friends”. Harwell died after being in hospice care, the cause being liver failure, Hayes told Roling Stone. Hayes the band manager said Harwell “passed peacefully and comfortably”. Steve Harwell was the co-founder and original lead singer of Smash Mouth which was a late 90s California-based band with over 10 million albums sold worldwide and topped the charts with two #1 hit singles, five Top 40 singles, three Hot 100 singles, four Billboard 200 albums, and a grammy nomination in addition to hundreds of film and television placements and those in the musical features in Shrek.
Steven Scott Harwell was born on January 9, 1967, in Santa Clara, California. Harwell’s career started with Chuck D-inspired rapping from the hip-hop ensemble F.O.S. (freedom of speech). The group released a title in 1993, called “Big Black Boots”. However, the group didn’t last and Harwell began to form the alt-rock group known as Smash Mouth, created along with childhood friend/drummer Kevin Coleman and songwriter-guitarist Greg Camo, and Bassist Paul De Lisle. The group gained traction in 1997 with their demo song “Nervous in the Alley”. The song first aired on the San Jose radio station KOME-FM, just after the group signed with powerhouse Interscope Records. The group became a household name after being added to the DreamWorks pictered 2001 film Sherk which won seven awards.
Steve Harwell had struggled over the last decade with alcohol abuse along with struggling from numerous ailments that impacted his motor functions, speech, and memory issues that impacted his ability to perform. These problems came to a height after his October 2021, performance in Bethel, New York, where Harwell was seen intoxicated and threatening his audience members after Harwell announced his retirement from the group Smash Mouth due to the October concert. Steve Harwell had retired from the rock group Smash Mouth and then was replaced by the vocalist Zach Goode.
The smash-mouth band manager Hayes said that “Steve’s legacy will live on through the music.” Harwell was survived by his wife Michelle Laroque and his son Presley who tragically passed away in 2001 at 6 months old. Harwell will forever be remembered as an “All-Star” singer in his fans’ memories.
