He is best known as the singer of "Blind Melon" and he had a very short career but he influenced many artists...
(Photo: Ebet Roberts)
1. His full name is Richard Shannon Hoon and he was born on September 26, 1967.
2. He grew up in Indiana with a stepbrother & stepsister and at a young age decided to use his middle name in order to be different from his father Richard.
3. He was an athlete in high school and was part of the baseball team, wrestling team, and pole vaulting.
4. After graduating from high school he joined his first band "Styff Kytten" which was a glam metal band. He took on the role of a vocalist but he also was the one who led the band.
5. In 1985, Hoon left Indiana and moved to Los Angeles to seek his musical future.
6. There he met Brad Smith and Rogers Stevens, the two saw Hoon perform on stage with an acoustic guitar and quickly fell in love with the guy.
7. In 1990 the three members joined by Christopher Thorn and Glen Graham formed the band "Blind Melon".
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8. The name was taken from a nickname given by Hoon's father to drug addicts who were in the neighborhood where he lives
9. The five young members recorded a demo consisting of four songs and managed to get a contract with the label Capitol Records
10. At that time Hoon acquired a new friend named Axl Rose who was a friend of his sister
11. The two also became friends in music when Axl invited Hoon to participate in the double and huge album "Use Your Illusion I & II"
12. Hoon performed background vocals on the songs “The Garden”, and “Don’t Cry” and also participated in the video clip of the song “Don’t Cry”.
13. The sharp-eyed will notice the image of Hoon on the sleeve of the "Use Your Illusion I" vinyl
14. In 1992, Blind Melon released their debut album bearing the band's name
15. In order to promote the album, the band went on tour with "Guns N 'Roses", "Soundgarden" and Ozzy Osbourne as an opening act.
16. Simultaneously, the band's famous video clip for the song "No Rain" was released, which was broadcast non-stop on MTV. The video clip and the tour took the band to the sky and they were a huge success.
17. With the success also came the drugs and Hoon became their very heavy consumer. In 1994, the band participated in the infamous Woodstock 94 festival, where Hoon took the stage while drugged and dressed in his girlfriend's dress.
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18. In 1995 the band's second album “Soup” was released
19. During the tour to promote the album, Hoon added a drug rehab therapist to support him
20. But on October 21, 1995, after a marathon night of drugs, which resulted from the band's disappointing performance in Houston, Hoon died from an overdose of cocaine. The band's sound technician found him dead on the band's bus.
(Photo: Henry Diltz)
21. In 1996, the band released a compilation album called "Nico" named after Hoon's daughter Nico Blue.
A tribute album to Hoon whose entire income was dedicated to his daughter and included special versions, songs recorded by Hoon and completed by the band, and covers
22. The band continued to exist until 1999 with various singers and disbanded. In 2006 it returned to activity with the singer Travis Warren and released its third album "For My Friends"
23. In 2008 a book was published called "A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon" by Greg Prato on Hoon and the Band
24. In 2019, a documentary about Hoon was released called "All I Can Say" which consists of footage he took with a home camera.
25. Despite his particularly short life in the world of music, Hoon has had an impact on many artists and some of them even mentioned him in their songs, such as: "Dream Theater", Zby akk Wylde, and more...