Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell has died “peacefully and comfortably” at home, according to the band’s manager.
His death, at the age of 56, came after Harwell’s manager said on Monday (Australian time) he had been given only days to live and was receiving hospice care.
Robert Hayes said the cause of death was acute liver failure. The music icon died surrounded by family and friends in Boise, Idaho.
Smash Mouth is best known for some of the biggest pop culture hits of the early 2000s, including Shrek anthems All Star and I’m a Believer.
Hayes paid tribute to Harwell, who he said was a “true American Original” and “larger than life character”.
“Steve should be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned determination to reach the heights of pop stardom,” said Hayes in a statement.
“And the fact that he achieved this near-impossible goal with very limited musical experience makes his accomplishments all the more remarkable.
“His only tools were his irrepressible charm and charisma, his fearlessly reckless ambition, and his king-size cajones.
“Steve lived a 100 per cent full-throttle life. Burning brightly across the universe before burning out.”
Harwell co-founded Smash Mouth in 1994.
But he left it in 2021 after a controversial performance in New York where he abused the audience, flipped it off and slurred his words.
The musician had struggled with alcoholism, and his years of alcohol abuse was said to have contributed to Harwell’s health and mental health woes.
In 2013 he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and later Wernicke’s encephalopathy (an acute neurological condition), which affected his memory and speech.
Born in California in 1967, Harwell performed in a rap group called FOS (Freedom of Speech) before forming Smash Mouth in 1994.
The band released two platinum albums on Interscope Records, the ska-fuelled 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.
Humour was a driving force behind Smash Mouth’s success, and at the forefront was Harwell’s playful alt-rock voice and persona.
He made a cameo in 2001 comedy film Rat Race, and had a well-documented friendship with the Food Network chef and host Guy Fieri.
When Harwell left Smash Mouth in 2021, the band continued to tour with Zach Goode as the singer.
The band released a statement at the time saying 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”.
Hayes had released a statement on Sunday saying Harwell was in hospice care.
Harwell will be cremated in Boise and buried in San Jose, California alongside his mother, Hayes said.
-with AAP
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