Steve Harwell

Steven Scott Harwell (January 9, 1967 – September 4, 2023) was an American musician and singer.[1] He served as the lead vocalist for the rock band Smash Mouth from its formation in 1994 until his retirement in 2021.[2][3][4] Their songs include "Walkin' on the Sun" and "All Star".

Steve Harwell
Harwell in 2013
Born
Steven Scott Harwell

(1967-01-09)January 9, 1967
Santa Clara, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 4, 2023(2023-09-04) (aged 56)
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
Years active1988–2021
Children1
Musical career
OriginSan Jose, California, U.S.
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
Formerly ofSmash Mouth

Career

Harwell was initially a rapper in the group F.O.S.[5] (Freedom of Speech).[6] He abandoned the Public Enemy-influenced project upon hearing Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic and realizing that the genre was changing.[7]

Greg Camp formed Smash Mouth in 1994 with Harwell, Kevin Coleman, and Paul De Lisle. They first achieved success with their 1997 song "Walkin' on the Sun".[8] The band's 1999 song "All Star" reached the top 10 in the United States, and regained popularity after being featured in the 2001 film Shrek.[9]

Harwell was a featured cast member in the sixth season of the VH1 reality show The Surreal Life in 2006.[10] He appeared on other television and radio shows,[11] as well as making a cameo in the 2001 film Rat Race.[12] He performed two songs, "Beside Myself" and "Everything Just Crazy", for the 2013 South Korean-Chinese animated film Pororo, The Racing Adventure.[13]

During a Smash Mouth concert in Urbana, Illinois, on August 27, 2016, Harwell collapsed on stage and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. The band completed the show without him, De Lisle singing in his place.[14][15][16] In August 2020, the band headlined at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, with Harwell declaring "Now we're all here together tonight. And we're being human once again. Fuck that COVID shit"; the event was later classed as a superspreading event by the National Institutes of Health.[17]

In October 2021, the band performed at a beer and wine festival at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York, where he appeared to be intoxicated, threatening audience members and performing what looked like a Nazi salute.[18][19] He then announced his retirement due to ongoing health issues.[20]

Personal life, illness and death

Harwell had a son named Presley, who died aged six months in July 2001 from acute lymphocytic leukemia and inspired the name of his father's disease prevention fund.[21]

Throughout most of his life, Harwell struggled with alcoholism.[7] In 2013, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and Wernicke encephalopathy, which can affect functions such as speech and memory. He was hospitalized in 2017 for his cardiomyopathy, leading to the cancellation of a show.[22] He retired in 2021, due to these problems hindering his ability to perform.[23]

Harwell died from liver failure at his home in Boise, Idaho, on September 4, 2023,[24] one day after his manager, Robert Hayes, announced Harwell was in hospice for final-stage liver failure.[25][26] He was 56 years old. In tribute, Hayes wrote: "Steve lived a 100% full-throttle life. Burning brightly across the universe before burning out."[27]

References
  1. "Steve Harwell's bio: net worth, wife, age, cause of death". Daily Stand. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  2. "Steve Harwell". AllMusic. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  3. "Steve Harwell". BBC. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  4. "Interview with Steve Harwell". Nyrock.com. November 1997. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014.
  5. "Q&A: Steve Harwell On 20 Years Of Smash Mouth And Coming To Terms With All Those "All Star" Memes". Stereogum. July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  6. Legaspi, Althea (September 4, 2023). "Steve Harwell, Smash Mouth Founding Singer, Dead at 56". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  7. "Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell dies at 56". BBC News. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  8. Moses, Claire; Sisario, Ben (September 4, 2023). "Steve Harwell, Former Smash Mouth Lead Singer, Dies at 56". The New York Times.
  9. "Steve Harwell, founding member of Smash Mouth, dies aged 56". The Independent. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  10. Wilkes, Neil (September 21, 2005). "New 'Surreal Life' cast named". Digital Spy. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  11. "Steve Harwell - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  12. "Steve Harwell, former Smash Mouth lead singer, dead at 56". CBC News. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  13. "Steve Harwell: The Smash Mouth frontman known for 'All Star' and 'Walkin' on the Sun'". The Independent. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  14. Helman, Peter (August 28, 2016). "Smash Mouth Singer Leaves Stage In An Ambulance, Band Plays "All Star" Without Him". Stereogum. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  15. Hendricks, Jaclyn (August 29, 2016). "Smash Mouth singer collapses on stage mid-concert | Page Six". Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  16. Verhoeven, Beatrice (August 29, 2016). "Smash Mouth Frontman Steve Harwell Collapses During Concert". TheWrap. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  17. Dave, Dhaval; McNichols, Drew; Sabia, Joseph J. (2021). "The contagion externality of a superspreading event: The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and COVID‐19". Southern Economic Journal. 87 (3): 769–807. doi:10.1002/soej.12475. ISSN 0038-4038. PMC 7753804. PMID 33362303.
  18. Barton, Monika (October 12, 2021). "Smash Mouth singer accused of doing Nazi salute in shocking footage from 'chaotic' gig". Newshub.
  19. Brown, August (October 11, 2021). "Smash Mouth singer slurs words, curses fans at 'chaotic' live show". Los Angeles Times.
  20. "Smash Mouth singer Steve Harwell retires after disoriented New York concert". NBC News. October 12, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  21. Slaughter, Adele (July 22, 2002). "Smash Mouth fights childhood leukemia". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 12, 2005. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  22. Smash Mouth's Steve Harwell Rushed to Hospital, Band Cancels Concert KTVB
  23. Kaufman, Gil (October 12, 2021). "Smash Mouth Singer Steve Harwell Retires, Citing Ongoing Health Issues". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  24. "Steve Harwell, Smash Mouth Founding Singer, Dead at 56". Rolling Stone. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  25. Chasan, Aliza (September 3, 2023). "Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell in hospice care, representative says". CBS News. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  26. Zhan, Jennifer (September 3, 2023). "Steve Harwell Is Reportedly in Hospice Care for Liver Failure". New York Magazine. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  27. "Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell dies at 56". BBC News. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
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