According to the website RollingStone, Smash Mouth singer Steve Harwell has died aged 56. He entered palliative care yesterday.
According to his manager, the musician had reached the last stages of liver failure yesterday, as reported TMZ this September 3.
According to the publication, the singer has struggled with alcohol abuse throughout his life, adding that his family and friends have gathered to say goodbye to him over the past three days.
News of the former Smash Mouth singer’s declining health came to light in 2021, when it was announced that the frontman would be retiring due to health issues he had been battling for several years.
The news came after footage from a concert showed him slurring his words and making threatening comments towards the crowd.
Announcing his retirement in 2021, a rep for the band told the Los Angeles Times that Steve Harwell left the band to focus on what he described as “long-standing medical problems”.
“Despite Steve’s best efforts to overcome these issues, he is heartbroken to tell you that it has become impossible for him to continue doing what he loves most, performing in front of the band’s millions of fans across the world”they said.
TMZ previously reported that the singer was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy eight years ago, which led to other medical issues such as heart failure and Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which “significantly affected his motor functions, including speech and impaired memory”said a spokesperson.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of being a Rockstar playing in front of sold-out arenas and I was lucky enough to live that dream,” Harwell said in a statement at the time. “To my friends in the band, it’s been an honor playing with you all these years and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have taken this wild journey with.”
Smash Mouth revealed new vocalist Zach Goode last year via a Rick Astley cover.
Harwell co-founded Smash Mouth in 1994, which rose to fame with songs like “Walkin’ on the Sun”, “All Star” and their resumption of “I’m A Believer” which features in the movie Shrek.
2023-09-05 00:10:44
#Smash #Mouth #singer #Steve #Harwell #died
