(CNN) — Steve Harwell, the founding lead singer of the rock group Smash Mouth, died Monday, in response to his supervisor.
He was 56.
No reason behind dying was shared, however Harwell had been receiving hospice care over the weekend. He died at his dwelling in Boise, Idaho, with household and buddies by his aspect, in accordance Robert Hayes, the supervisor of Smash Mouth.
“Steve Harwell was a real American Authentic. A bigger than life character who shot up into the sky like a Roman candle,” Hayes stated in an announcement to CNN. “Steve must be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned willpower to achieve the heights of pop stardom. And the truth that he achieved this near-impossible aim with very restricted musical expertise makes his accomplishments all of the extra exceptional. His solely instruments had been his irrepressible allure and charisma, his fearlessly reckless ambition, and his king-size cajones.”
Harwell was a founding member in 1994 and longtime lead singer of Smash Mouth, finest recognized for its chart-topping singles “All Star” and “I’m a Believer.”
Throughout Harwell’s profession, the band was nominated for a Grammy for Finest Pop Efficiency by a Duo or Group for “All Star,” a music which later achieved cult standing after its look on the sound monitor of the 2001 animated movie “Shrek.”
“It’s bizarre, folks ask me, ‘Do you get tired of taking part in these songs?’ I’m like, ‘Why would I get tired of taking part in them? That is what places bread and butter on my desk,’” Harwell advised Vice of the group’s finest recognized hits in a 2014 interview. “, there’s all the time anyone within the crowd who hasn’t heard it. Or hasn’t seen it reside. Once I exit onstage, I take a look at it that method. As soon as that traditional music begins, folks simply go bananas. Has ‘Free Chook’ ever received previous?”
Harwell himself went to nice lengths to spice up the band’s early fame – personally taking their “Astro Lounge” to radio stations throughout the nation to get it performed throughout the airwaves.
“We by no means do something conventional,” Harwell said in 1999. “We by no means undergo the entrance door. It’s all the time the again door, or an open window or one thing, to get our stuff performed.”
Whereas Smash Mouth reached peak success the late nineties, the group continued performing collectively and their followers stayed with them.
“We’ve by no means sounded higher,” Harwell stated of touring in newer years. “The exhibits have been nice. Crowd response is implausible. There’s only a nice camaraderie within the band now. We’re all getting older, and I take extra delight in it than I did years in the past.”
Since Harwell left the band in 2021 over health issues, the group has continued to carry out with new lead vocalist Zach Goode.
“Steve lived a 100% full-throttle life. Burning brightly throughout the universe earlier than burning out,” Hayes concluded his assertion. “Good evening Heevo Veev. Relaxation in peace figuring out you aimed for the celebs, and magically hit your goal.”
CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this story.
