Smash Mouth singer Steve Harwell is in hospice care, manager says

Steve Harwell, the former lead singer of Smash Mouth, has begun hospice care at home and has only “a short time” left, his manager confirmed to The Times on Sunday.

Harwell, whom TMZ reported is in the final stage of liver failure, is being cared for by his fiancé. The manager declined to provide more details and asked to “respect Steve and his family’s privacy during this difficult time.”

The singer retired from Smash Mouth at age 54 in 2021 citing health conditions. “I’ve tried so hard to power through my physical and mental health issues, and to play in front of you one last time, but I just wasn’t able to,” Harwell announced at the time.

The retirement followed a concert in upstate New York in which Harwell slurred his words, threatened audience members and gave what appeared to be a Nazi salute to the crowd. A spokesperson for the band later said Harwell “has suffered profusely over the years with several types of addiction” leading to health conditions that included cardiomyopathy, which affects the heart’s ability to pump blood, and Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which “greatly impacted his motor functions including speech and impaired memory.”

Smash Mouth is best known for its first hit, “Walkin’ on the Sun,” as well as the cover of the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer” from the 2001 “Shrek” soundtrack and the No. 1 hit “All Star” from 1999. The band has sold more than 10 million albums and has since continued to tour with new vocalist Zach Goode.

Times music editor Craig Marks contributed to this report.