Steven Scott Harwell (January 9, 1967 – September 4, 2023) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist and frontman for the rock band Smash Mouth from their formation in 1994 until his retirement in 2021.[1][2][3]
Career
Harwell was initially a rapper in the group F.O.S.[4] (Freedom of Speech).[5] He abandoned the Public Enemy–influenced project upon hearing Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic and realizing that the genre was changing.[6]
Greg Camp formed Smash Mouth in 1994 with Harwell, Kevin Coleman, and Paul De Lisle. They first achieved success with their 1997 song "Walkin' on the Sun".[7] The band's 1999 song "All Star" reached the top 10 in the United States, and it regained popularity after being featured in the 2001 film Shrek.[8]
During a Smash Mouth concert in Urbana, Illinois, on August 27, 2016, Harwell collapsed on stage and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. The band completed the show without him, De Lisle singing in his place.[14][15] In August 2020, the band headlined at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, with Harwell declaring "Now we're all here together tonight. And we're being human once again. Fuck that COVID shit"; the event was later classed as a superspreading event by the National Institutes of Health.[16]
In October 2021, the band performed at a beer and wine festival at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York, where he appeared to be intoxicated, threatening audience members and performing what looked like a Nazi salute.[17][18] He then announced his retirement due to ongoing health issues,[19] and was replaced by Zach Goode.[20]
Personal life
Harwell married Michelle Laroque in 2000; they divorced in 2019.[21] Together, they had a son named Presley, who died aged six months in July 2001 from acute lymphocytic leukemia and inspired the name of his father's disease prevention fund, the Presley Scott Research Foundation for Leukemia.[22][23]
Illness and death
Throughout most of his life, Harwell struggled with alcoholism, which was exacerbated by the death of his son. At times he performed while heavily intoxicated.[24][6] In 2013, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and Wernicke encephalopathy, which can impair speech and memory. He was hospitalized in 2017 for cardiomyopathy, leading to the cancellation of a show.[25] He retired in 2021 as these health problems hindered his ability to perform.[26]
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