“Walkin’ on the Sun” and “All Star” vocalist announced his retirement in 2021

“Walkin’ on the Sun” and “All Star” vocalist announced his retirement in 2021

STEVE HARWELL, WHO cofounded the band Smash Mouth in 1994, has died at the age of 56, band manager Robert Hayes confirmed. The musician, best known for hits like “All Star” and “I’m a Believer,” died at his home in Boise, ID “surrounded by family and friends.”

Harwell had been in hospice care following medical complications. The cause of death was liver failure, Hayes told Rolling Stone.

Hayes said Harwell “passed peacefully and comfortably.” In a statement to Rolling Stone, he offered a lengthy tribute to the artist, who was a staple of ’90s rock music and saw success with multiple albums and singles.

  • justhach@lemmy.world
    2389·
    1 year ago

    He was right.

    The years start coming, and they simply do not stop coming.

    RIP King

      • ivanafterall@kbin.social
        34·
        1 year ago

        “It’s a cool place and they say it gets colder
        You’re bundled up now, wait 'til you get older”

        Steve Harwell was a prophet.

        • Restaldt@lemmy.world
          3·
          1 year ago

          “The ice we skate is getting pretty thin. The waters getting warm so we might as well swim. My worlds on fire how about yours? Thats the way I like it because I never get bored.”

          A prophet indeed

    • Steeve@lemmy.ca
      272·
      1 year ago

      And they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they don’t stop coming and they

  • mysoulishome@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11431·
    1 year ago

    I don’t see many compliments about Steve like the outpouring of love for people like Paul Reubens when they die, so I just wanted to share some nice words about him.

    My sister saw Smash Mouth and 3rd Eye Blind together in 1997 and Steve called out to the crowd “FUCK MARILYN MANSON.” I was taken aback at the time but realized he was basically calling out the focus on darkness, anger, self harm, violence etc in Marilyn’s music and the effect on the world (especially youth), vs positivity, togetherness. The music he’s put out seems to have embodies this.

    You don’t read a lot about his personal life or cutesy fan interaction ala Bill Murray or Keanu…but by all accounts he is a kind and humble guy. He seems to have struggled a lot with alcohol and mental health but loved to party and have a good time.

    I hope more people speak about with good things to say about him. I have a feeling he was a great guy we didn’t know very well.

    • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
      1655·
      1 year ago

      He lost me when I saw him in a video trashed while singing and throwing up Nazi salutes and insulting the crowd. You can blame the alcohol all you want, but Nazi salutes are a line you don’t cross. So I dunno what happened to all his positivity, but it’s been long gone.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
          394·
          1 year ago

          That was the event that caused me to lose respect for them. I loved their music before that and was happy to see them gain popularity after Shrek and sad to see that popularity turn against them when radio shows overplayed All Star.

          But then they headlined what I saw as the symbol of the lack of resilience a portion of the population had and removed them from my playlists and don’t let my mind dwell on their songs anymore.

          And now I’m wondering if covid was a factor in his death. Even if his heart condition wasn’t caused by it in the first place, covid does a number on the heart and other organs, and I wonder if it took years off his life.

          RIP, I’ll let go of those feelings now.

          • The Pantser@lemmy.world
            193·
            1 year ago

            He died of liver failure, it was the drinking that did him in. Wasn’t COVID it was the alcohol.

          • I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
            71·
            1 year ago

            When that video a few years ago went viral of him trying to sing (not at Sturgis) but being just absolutely to fucked up to even know where he was, there was a lot of talk about he went off the deep end drinking when his kid died. He was diagnosed with Wernicke- Korsakoff syndrome (“wet brain”) from drinking ten years before Sturgis.

            Wernicke’s encephalopathy has several potential symptoms. The most common issues are:

            A confused mental state, ataxia, or loss of the ability to coordinate voluntary muscle movement, double vision or other changes in your normal vision

            People with Korsakoff syndrome may also experience visual or auditory hallucinations. In addition, they may make up false stories without consciously meaning to deceive. Other symptoms are also possible. For example, you may undergo unusual changes in your normal behavior. You may also experience fatigue and an inability to concentrate. In addition, you may walk unsteadily or feel disoriented or delirious.

      • arefx@lemmy.ml
        633·
        1 year ago

        I was/is an alcoholic (now sober) and I never resorted to Nazi salutes at my worst lol. I didn’t even think about that shit

        • Alien Nathan Edward@lemm.ee
          352·
          1 year ago

          I drank professionally for about 15 years and I also never once endorsed genocide. It’s really easy to do. All you have to do is be a normal person to whom it would never occur as an idea in the first place.

          edit: lol @ the two downvotes who were like “not endorsing genocide is a constant struggle”

      • mysoulishome@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1029·
        1 year ago

        Did you watch the video or read the transcript? He’s telling people he’s going to kill then. More and more agitated, just flailing at anything. Flipping off the crowd. Completely out of his mind. Not saying doing a nazi salute is ok but this guy isn’t a nazi. It’s super sad. It sucks if that’s all he will be remembered for.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
          395·
          1 year ago

          He was drunk. And yet I’ve been pretty damn drunk and at no point did I ever give a Nazi salute.

            • Czarrie@lemm.ee
              131·
              1 year ago

              I think there’s a gulf of difference between alcoholism that leads to end-stage liver failure and death and “I’ve been drunk before”. Considering he is dead in 2023, gonna say he was pretty pickled already in 2021, especially with whatever downtime the pandemic offered

              • root_beer@midwest.socialEnglish
                4·
                1 year ago

                Apparently he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and wet brain from the alcoholism ten years ago; “pickled already in 2021” sounds like an understatement

          • mysoulishome@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1322·
            1 year ago

            Alright, he’s a violent racist if that makes you happy. The internet is so in love with labeling someone all bad or all perfect…

              • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
                1·
                1 year ago

                He’s like my aunt. You can’t say a single word of criticism for anything around her, or she’ll attack you for not being positive.

                It’s very negative behavior, but she says the word positive a thousand times a day so she must be better than us!

            • zaph@sh.itjust.works
              124·
              1 year ago

              If we’re not allowed to call people who go to rallies that white supremacists attend and throw up nazi signs, when are we allowed to call someone racist. FFS I’m tired of this “stop calling people racist” bullshit. Stop acting racist and people won’t call them racist.

                • zaph@sh.itjust.works
                  56·
                  1 year ago

                  It was the yearly bike rally in Sturgis. It’s not entirely a white supremacist rally but it’s quite easy to find them there as they typically have flags and tattoos that help you spot them. If it was at his own concert there’s the tiny chance it could be some extreme mental break but he went were he felt welcome for this one.

  • greendakota99@lemmy.world
    58·
    1 year ago

    I had the Astro Lounge CD day of release and remember playing the whole album on repeat playing Ape Escape the summer of 99 as a 14yo. 24 years later and I wish I could inject that feeling into my veins somehow for even just 5 minutes. Maybe I should try meth? /s

  • decadentrebel@lemmy.worldEnglish
    442·
    1 year ago

    All-Star brought attention to Mystery Men, which is a criminally underrated movie. So, that’s another reason to like that song.

    • Dkarma@lemmy.world
      152·
      1 year ago

      Finally someone who knows what’s up with mystery men. Every single actor in that movie is a star.

    • Wogi@lemmy.world
      1·
      1 year ago

      This is egg salad. It’s loaded with cholesterol, the wife won’t even let me touch it. It hardly seems to matter now 'cause, chances are, we’re already dead. Amazing is gone, there’s no use waiting for the cavalry, because as of this moment, the cavalry is us! So what do you say? Do we all gather together, and go kick some Casanova butt? Or do I eat this sandwich?

    • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      It’s the same thing with Jimmy Buffet … between Buffet and Smash Mouth, they didn’t produce the most intellectual and insightful music. I never liked Margheritaville and I was partial to the pop hits that Smash Mouth came out with.

      But the thing about big popular acts like these guys is that they are markers in our lives. Like them or hate them the fact that they were part of our lives is what’s made the impression. The fact that when they die, it’s like having a neighbor you knew die a few doors down from you. It makes you feel bad and it’s a subtle reminder that you are in line in this short experience we call life.

  • ivanafterall@kbin.social
    292·
    1 year ago

    “Didn’t make sense not to live for fun
    Your brain gets smart, but your head gets dumb”
    -Steve Harwell (1967-2023)

  • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
    18·
    1 year ago

    Wow. RIP buddy.

    I had a friend pass away from sudden liver failure about 5 or 6 years ago. I had dinner with him on Monday, saw a Facebook post on Friday that he went into the hospital on Wednesday and was dead before I saw the post.

  • dystop@lemmy.world
    182·
    1 year ago

    RIP. He wasn’t all there towards the end, what with the drinking and the Nazi stuff and the COVID denial/antivax stuff, but Smash Mouth had such a big impact on the world.

    • tegs_terry@feddit.ukEnglish
      227·
      1 year ago

      Did they? They were one hit wonders who - except for some covid controversy - are now more known in tandem with Shrek rather than independently.

      • cylon_jg@lemmy.world
        16·
        1 year ago

        Depends on location and generation, perhaps. They were the soundtrack to my summers in the late 90s/early 00s in Southern California, always on the radio. I didn’t know he’d gone off the deep end - sad.

      • TORFdot0@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Smash mouth were not one-hit wonders. “Walking’ on the sun”, “Then the morning comes”, “I’m a believer” (ok that’s technically also a Shrek song), and “Can’t get enough of you baby” were also Top 40 hits.

  • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
    111·
    1 year ago

    I posted a video of him looking like hell and trashed during a concert/event like a year or two ago. He looked roooough.