The song hit No.
4 on the Hot 100, and the band’s subsequent albumAstro Loungeeventually went triple-platinum.
Smash Mouth debuted two years prior to “All Star” with the double platinumFush Yu Mangand No.
Credit: Bob Berg/Getty Images
1 Alternative single “Walkin' on the Sun.”
As for a title, that came from Camp’s favorite footwear.
“I think I was probably wearing Converse All Stars,” he said inan interview with WBUR.
“All Star” was born.
Interscope loved the track and released it as a single.
But the band’s story eventually took a downhill turn.
When their follow-up record flopped, they were dropped by Interscope.
Specifically, “All Star” became a go-to track in a variety of joke videos and memes.
In fact, Camp revealed that he had “become Facebook pals with [Jon Sudano].”
“I just think he’s fabulous,” he toldSongfacts.
“He gets it, completely.
He is the person that song was written for.”
The track’s long-lasting impact is an interesting byproduct of the internet age.
In the past, songs were only granted icon status by industry gatekeepers.
As the proverb, which Smash Mouth misquoted, says, all that glitters is not gold.
But now, songs like “All Star” and “Shooting Stars” can break through.
Whether this has a positive or negative effect on music can certainly be debated.
On one hand, it means we are subject to listen to mediocrity much longer than is preferred.
But then, it also means a potentially much less biased look at musical history.
Social media allows the listening habits of millions to be documented instead of the ideas of a powerful few.
But in the meantime, Smash Mouth isn’t going away.
