“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.
He brought a lot of joy. Name a millenial or Gen X’er thT doesn’t know All Star!
I don’t think it was necessarily consensual that I recognize it, that song was inescapable.
Wish I’d never heard it, honestly.
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.