LOS ANGELES—Steve Harwell, the longtime frontman of the Grammy-nominated pop rock band Smash Mouth, has died. He was 56.
The band’s manager, Robert Hayes, said Mr. Harwell “passed peacefully and comfortably” Monday morning surrounded by family and friends at his home in Boise, Idaho. The cause of death was acute liver failure, Hayes said in a statement.
Born in California in 1967, Mr. Harwell performed in a rap group called F.O.S. (Freedom of Speech) before forming Smash Mouth in 1994. The band released two platinum albums on Interscope Records, the ska-fueled 1997’s “Fush Yu Mang” and 1999’s “Astro Lounge.” The second album featured some of the band’s biggest hits, including the Grammy-nominated, platinum single “All Star,” which appeared in the movie “Shrek” alongside their cover of the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.”
Mr. Harwell retired from performing and left Smash Mouth in 2021. The band continued to tour with Zach Goode as the singer. Smash Mouth released a statement at the time saying Mr. Harwell had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy eight years earlier and had suffered “nonstop serious medical setbacks including heart failure as well as acute Wernicke Encephalopathy.”
Mr. Hayes had released a statement on Sunday saying Mr. Harwell was in hospice care.
Mr. Harwell will be cremated in Boise and buried in San Jose, California, alongside his mother, Mr. Hayes said.
