Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell has died at 56 and tributes have flooded in.
In 2001, their song All Star featured in the opening credits of Shrek. The song now has close to a billion streams on Spotify.
Steve Harwell died
The band messaged on X writing: “Steve Harwell was a true American Original. A larger than life character who shot up into the sky like a Roman candle. Steve will be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned determination to reach the heights of pop stardom. Rest in peace knowing you aimed for the stars, and magically hit your target. Rest easy.”
Tributes
Here are just a small selection of the tributes flooding in for him…
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Background
Steve Harwell was an American musician and the lead vocalist of the rock band Smash Mouth.
Born on January 9, 1967, in Santa Clara, California, he co-founded Smash Mouth in 1994 along with guitarist Greg Camp, bassist Paul De Lisle, and drummer Kevin Coleman.
The band achieved mainstream success in the late 1990s with their hit songs like “All Star” and “Walkin’ on the Sun.”
Steve Harwell’s distinctive voice and stage presence helped define Smash Mouth’s sound, characterized by a mix of rock, pop, and ska influences. The band’s music was often featured in movies, commercials, and television shows during its peak popularity.
While Steve Harwell is best known for his role in Smash Mouth, he has also made appearances on reality television shows and continues to perform with the band.
Harwell suffered tragedy at the height of the band’s fame in 2001, when his son Presley died from leukemia aged six months, and he postponed the release of their third, self-titled album. The band released four further albums, most recently Magic in 2012.
Related: All we know about ‘Shrek 5’
