“Walkin’ on the Sun” and “All Star” vocalist announced his retirement in 2021
STEVE HARWELL, WHO cofounded the band Smash Mouth in 1994, has died at the age of 56, band manager Robert Hayes confirmed. The musician, best known for hits like “All Star” and “I’m a Believer,” died at his home in Boise, ID “surrounded by family and friends.”
Harwell had been in hospice care following medical complications. The cause of death was liver failure, Hayes told Rolling Stone.
Hayes said Harwell “passed peacefully and comfortably.” In a statement to Rolling Stone, he offered a lengthy tribute to the artist, who was a staple of ’90s rock music and saw success with multiple albums and singles.
I had the Astro Lounge CD day of release and remember playing the whole album on repeat playing Ape Escape the summer of 99 as a 14yo. 24 years later and I wish I could inject that feeling into my veins somehow for even just 5 minutes. Maybe I should try meth? /s
I think mdma will do it
Yeah, no reason to jump to meth or fent.
If anything can, it’s mdma
Maybe don’t inject it into your veins, though?
I’m so Diggin’ Your [previous] Scene
Fentanyl is far cheaper and comes in pill form!
Smart, convenient!
Probably heroin…/s
“Didn’t make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart, but your head gets dumb”
-Steve Harwell (1967-2023)And every single day is just a fling. Then the morning comes.
— Steve Harwell
He brought a lot of joy. Name a millenial or Gen X’er thT doesn’t know All Star!
Wish I’d never heard it, honestly.
I don’t think it was necessarily consensual that I recognize it, that song was inescapable.
It’s the same thing with Jimmy Buffet … between Buffet and Smash Mouth, they didn’t produce the most intellectual and insightful music. I never liked Margheritaville and I was partial to the pop hits that Smash Mouth came out with.
But the thing about big popular acts like these guys is that they are markers in our lives. Like them or hate them the fact that they were part of our lives is what’s made the impression. The fact that when they die, it’s like having a neighbor you knew die a few doors down from you. It makes you feel bad and it’s a subtle reminder that you are in line in this short experience we call life.
RIP. He wasn’t all there towards the end, what with the drinking and the Nazi stuff and the COVID denial/antivax stuff, but Smash Mouth had such a big impact on the world.
Did they? They were one hit wonders who - except for some covid controversy - are now more known in tandem with Shrek rather than independently.
Depends on location and generation, perhaps. They were the soundtrack to my summers in the late 90s/early 00s in Southern California, always on the radio. I didn’t know he’d gone off the deep end - sad.
Smash mouth were not one-hit wonders. “Walking’ on the sun”, “Then the morning comes”, “I’m a believer” (ok that’s technically also a Shrek song), and “Can’t get enough of you baby” were also Top 40 hits.
Ok
Damn I just heard he was sick last night.
Same. They kept it extremely quiet. The band is now touring with a new vocalist and honestly the new song they put out is alright. Nothing earthshattering but it’s an alright song.
Damn, they moved on quick
I think the writing’s been on the wall for a bit
The band probably knew more about it than the general public did.
I think he retired a while ago after that fiasco with the Nazi salute
I thought it was adding that rap intro about bread to “All Star” that did it.
Oh wow, I hadn’t heard about that, yikes
He doesn’t seem to have been doing well for years. Just in general.
Some
Body
Once
Told
Me
The
World
Is
Was
World
Told
All-Star brought attention to Mystery Men, which is a criminally underrated movie. So, that’s another reason to like that song.
Finally someone who knows what’s up with mystery men. Every single actor in that movie is a star.
Also sad about Paul Reubens. He was perfect for the Spleen.
Don’t forget Shrek
This is egg salad. It’s loaded with cholesterol, the wife won’t even let me touch it. It hardly seems to matter now 'cause, chances are, we’re already dead. Amazing is gone, there’s no use waiting for the cavalry, because as of this moment, the cavalry is us! So what do you say? Do we all gather together, and go kick some Casanova butt? Or do I eat this sandwich?
Damn it’s been a big year for celebrity deaths
It ain’t no joke?
I’m probably one of the few who have listened to their re-releases, and wished they’d made more music. I loved their music, I still do, it’s stupid poppy funny. Sister psychic gets in my head every time Google fucks up their weather prediction.
There’s the hook, here’s the riff
I wish I lived in a world where he got to watch his kid grow up. I can’t imagine the pain he was living in.
I posted a video of him looking like hell and trashed during a concert/event like a year or two ago. He looked roooough.
This video was my first thought when I heard of his passing, can’t help thinking there might a connection…
Considering the cause of death was liver failure, it is very likely the case.
Wow. RIP buddy.
I had a friend pass away from sudden liver failure about 5 or 6 years ago. I had dinner with him on Monday, saw a Facebook post on Friday that he went into the hospital on Wednesday and was dead before I saw the post.
We really can’t get enough of you, baby. Because we miss you already. ❤️
He’s eating a cheeseburger in paradise with Jimmy Buffet now aka nonexistence.
The “aka nonexistence” really made it fizzle out there at the end.
In your opinion. Thanks for sharing.
