Original Smash Mouth frontman Steve Howell has died of acute liver failure at the age of 56. He passed away Monday morning, September 4, surrounded by family and friends at his home in Boise, Idaho.
Born in California, he founded Smash Mouth in 1994 and the band grew more popular when “All Star” and their cover of The Monkees‘ “I’m a Believer” were featured in the 2001 film, Shrek. “All Star” was also on the band’s 3x Platinum, Grammy nominated sophomore album, Astro Lounge.
Smash Mouth went on to release four more studio albums with Harwell: 2003’s Get the Picture?; 2005’s The Gift of Rock; 2006’s Summer Girl; and 2012’s Magic.
Over the weekend, a manager for the band announced that he had entered at-home hospice care.
Harwell had struggled with alcohol and substance abuse throughout his life, which TMZ says is a contributing factor to his declining health.
In late 2021, Harwell retired from performing after a video went viral of him slurring words, yelling at the audience, and being completely disassociated with a performance in upstate New York. At the time, it was reported that Harwell had been suffering from heart disease cardiomyopathy.
TL;DR:
- Smash Mouth frontman Steve Howell has died of acute liver failure at the age of 56.
- He passed away Monday morning, surrounded by family and friends at his home in Boise, Idaho.