20 January 2010
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Biography -
Shannon Hoon Biography
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Richard Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the frontman and lead singer of the band Blind Melon until his death from a drug overdose in 1995. Hoon was born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana with his half-sister, Anna, and half-brother, Tim. Hoon reportedly began using his middle name, Shannon, to avoid confusion with his father, who was also named Richard. In high school, Hoon played football, wrestling and pole vaulting. Hoon graduated from McCutcheon High School in 1985. After graduation, Hoon joined a local band named Styff Kitten, which also featured guitarist Michael Kelsey. Hoon took on the role of frontman and lead singer for the band. It was around this time that Hoon wrote his first song, "Change". |
Hoon was also a member of the Lafayette band Mank Rage, along with David Lank and Darren Mickler, during this time.
Hoon left Indiana for Los Angeles where he met musicians Brad Smith and Rogers Stevens at a party. Smith and Stevens saw Hoon perform his song Change acoustically and invited Hoon to play with them. Christopher Thorn and Glen Graham were then brought into the fold and soon the five musicians decided to form Blind Melon, reportedly named after a term Hoon's father used to describe the neighberhood stoners. In 1991, the new band mates produced a four song demo tape and subsequently signed a $500,000 recording contract with Capitol Records.
In Los Angeles, Hoon befriended his sister Anna's high school friend, Axl Rose. Rose invited Hoon to join him in the studio, where his band Guns N' Roses were recording their albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. Hoon sang backing vocals on several of the tracks, including "The Garden" and "Don't Cry". Rose also invited Hoon to appear in the video for "Don't Cry".
In 1992, Blind Melon released their self-titled debut album produced by Pearl Jam producer Rick Parashar. Blind Melon began touring to promote the album, supporting and opening for acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Neil Young, Guns N' Roses and Soundgarden over the course of 1992-1993. In the summer of 1993, the video for the album track "No Rain" was released as a single. The video for "No Rain" focused on a theme of the "normal" crowd versus the lonely outcast. It featured a young, pudgy girl played by Heather DeLoach in a bee costume tap dancing to unappreciative audiences who finally finds an entire crowd of people similarly dressed who welcome her. The video, often referred to as the 'Bee Girl'. Blind Melon went multi-platinum.
Hoon and Blind Melon spent the next two years touring. In 1993, Hoon was arrested for indecent exposure after he disrobed onstage and urinated on a fan at a show in Vancouver. In October 1993, while opening for Lenny Kravitz, Hoon came onstage in Orlando, Florida openly smoking marijuana at an outdoor concert. In 1994, Blind Melon appeared at Woodstock '94. Hoon went onstage wearing his girlfriend's dress, while tripping on acid. Throughout the performance, Hoon baited the audience and ended the set by tossing a set of conga drums into the crowd. Also in 1994, Hoon went on a drug-induced rampage at the Billboard Music Awards when he attacked a security guard.[citation needed] After taking a hiatus from touring, Blind Melon returned to the studio to record the album Soup in New Orleans. Soup was released in 1995.
In 1995, Hoon and his longtime girlfriend, Lisa Crouse, had a daughter, named Nico Blue. After the birth of his daughter, Hoon entered rehab again. In August, Blind Melon planned to tour to support their album Soup (Blind Melon album), so Hoon negotiated an early release from his drug rehab program with the stipulation that his drug counselor would accompany him on the road. The counselor, however, was unable to keep Hoon from falling back into a pattern of drug use and was dismissed from the tour after less than a month. Without the counselor, Hoon's use of drugs escalated.
After a performance in Houston, Hoon launched into an all-night cocaine binge. The next day, on October 21, 1995, Blind Melon was scheduled to play a show in New Orleans at Tipitina's. When one of the band's roadies went to the tour bus to wake Hoon up for a sound check, he was unable to wake him. An ambulance was summoned and Hoon was pronounced dead on the scene, at the age of 28. The cause of death was attributed to cocaine.
Hoon was buried in Dayton, Indiana; his grave is inscribed with the words to the first song he wrote, Change:
“ I know we can't all stay here forever
So I want to write my words on the face of today
And they'll paint it
”
On November 12, 1996, Blind Melon released their final album featuring Hoon, Nico, as a tribute to him with all proceeds going to his daughter and to programs helping musicians deal with drug problems. The band also released a video called Letters From A Porcupine that was nominated for 'Best Long Form Music Video' at the Grammy Awards on February 25, 1998. In December 2008, Hoon's mother Nel shared a collection of unreleased Shannon Hoon songs online.
