Rock musician Steve Harwell, best known as the leading member of the popular alternative rock band Smash Mouth, has passed away at the age of 56.
The rock band's longtime frontman, who was one of the group’s original founding members dating back all the way to 1994, passed away Monday morning at his home in Boise, Idaho as a result of liver failure, his manager confirmed as reported by TMZ.
He was surrounded by his close friends and family at the time of his death, with TMZ noting that rockstar had been in hospice and was given only days to live this past weekend.
As such, he was receiving end-of-life care at home with friends and family, after which, he eventually succumbed to his health battles over alcohol abuse, among other ailments.
Prior to his death, his family had earlier asked to respect their privacy as Harwell had been on his last breath, stating on social media: “We hope that people respect Steve and his family’s privacy during this difficult time. Steve is resting at home and being cared for by his fiancee and hospice care.”
Harwell formed Smash Mouth in 1994 at the age of 27 with friends Greg Camp, Kevin Coleman, and Paul De Lisle, releasing their first album in 1997.
The band’s success was helped partly due to the popularity of the prevailing Seattle based ‘Grunge’ movement, which was spearheaded by bands such as Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Melvins and Stone Temple Pilots which had made alternative rock a popular genre.
After moderate success in the mid-to-late 1990s, Smash Mouth hit the big time when ‘All Star’, the lead single from their second album, went triple Platinum.
Their popularity continued, and their involvement in the movie ‘Shrek’, put them on another level of fame, where their cover of The Monkees' hit song ‘I'm a Believer’ and their own track, ‘All Star’ have become iconic today.
Around this time, they were huge, and produced some notable tracks, with Steve Harwell directly contributing to songs, such as ‘Walkin' On the Sun’, ‘Then the Morning Comes’, ‘Can't Get Enough of You Baby’, ‘Pacific Coast Party’ and ‘Why Can't We Be Friends’.
