Smash Mouth Lead Singer Steve Harwell Dead at 56

Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell has died. Harwell passed away from liver failure at his home in Boise, Idaho on Monday morning surrounded by family, his manager confirmed to TMZ. He was 56.

Harwell's death followed reports over the weekend that the musician was in hospice care with only "a short time" left to live. In a statement to PEOPLE, the band's manager Robert Hayes said Harwell was "resting at home being cared for by his fiancé and hospice care. Even though Steve has not been with Smash Mouth for 2 years now, and the band continues to tour with new vocalist Zach Goode his legacy will live on through the music...Although Steve is here with us still, sadly it will only be for a short time. My only additional comment is that we would hope that people would respect Steve and his family's privacy during this difficult time."

Formed in 1994, Smash Mouth is known for songs like "All Star" and "I'm a Believer," which were featured on the soundtrack of the 2001 film Shrek. With Harwell, Smash Mouth has sold over 10 million albums worldwide, according to Hayes, and also "topped the charts with two #1 hit singles, five Top 40 singles, three Hot 100 singles, four Billboard 200 albums and a Grammy nomination not to mention the hundreds of film and television placements and of course those musical features in Shrek!"

In recent years, Harwell suffered numerous health complications. In 2016, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and Wernicke's Encephalopathy, and in October 2021, Harwell retired from Smash Mouth shortly after he was slurring his words and cursing at the audience during a Smash Mouth concert in New York. At the time, a representative for Harwell said he had been dealing with "long-term medical issues" for eight years.

"Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a Rockstar performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream," Harwell said in a statement. "To my bandmates, it's been an honor performing with you all these years and I can't think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with."

Amid news of his passing, many fans have taken to social media to pay tribute to Harwell, one person writing on X (formerly Twitter), "He will always be an All Star, rest in peace legend." The ShrekHistory account wrote, "You will always be an All-Star in our hearts."