Shannon Hoon - wikipedia Shannon Hoon This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2009 ) Shannon Hoon Shannon Hoon performing with Blind Melon in 1994 Background information Birth name Richard Shannon Hoon ( 1967 - 09 - 26 ) September 26, 1967 Lafayette, Indiana, U.S. October 21, 1995 ( 1995 - 10 - 21 ) ( aged 28 ) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. Genres Alternative rock grunge neo-psychedelia folk rock psychedelic rock stoner rock Occupation ( s ) Singer - songwriter, musician Instruments Vocals guitar harmonica kazoo tambourine bongos conga percussion Years active 1985 -- 1995 Labels Capitol Associated acts Blind Melon Guns N ' Roses Styff Kitten Website blindmelon.com Richard Shannon Hoon ( September 26, 1967 -- October 21, 1995 ) was an American singer - songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer of the band Blind Melon until his death in 1995. Contents 1 Early life 2 Blind Melon 3 Personal life and death 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External links Early life This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) Hoon was born in Lafayette, Indiana and raised in nearby Dayton, Indiana with his half - sister, Anna, and half - brother, Tim. He reportedly began using his middle name, Shannon, to avoid confusion with his father, who was also named Richard. In high school, he played football, wrestled, and was a pole vaulter. Shannon 's musical influences included the Grateful Dead, The Beatles, John Lennon, and Bob Dylan. After graduating from McCutcheon High School in 1985, Hoon joined a local glam metal band named Styff Kytten, which also featured guitarist Michael Kelsey. He took on the role of frontman and lead singer of the band. It was around this time that he wrote his first song and called it `` Change. '' He was also a member of the Lafayette band Mank Rage, along with David Lank and Darren Mickler, during this time. Blind Melon This article appears to contradict the article Blind Melon. Please see discussion on the linked talk page. ( August 2017 ) In 1985, Hoon, 18, left Indiana for Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, 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 by 1990 the five musicians decided to form Blind Melon. The band was possibly named for a term Smith 's father used to describe the neighborhood stoners ; or for Blind Melon Chitlin, a character from a Cheech & Chong album. In 1990, the new bandmates 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 ( both released in 1991 ). Hoon sang backing vocals on several of the tracks, including `` The Garden '' and `` Do n't Cry. '' Rose also invited Hoon to appear in the video for `` Do n'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, Guns N ' Roses, and Soundgarden over the course of 1992 -- 1993. In the summer of 1992, 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 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 is 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 1994, Blind Melon appeared at Woodstock ' 94 where Hoon, allegedly high on LSD, went onstage wearing his girlfriend 's white dress. 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. Personal life and death Gravesite of Shannon Hoon On July 11, 1995, Hoon and his girlfriend, Lisa Crouse, had a daughter named Nico Blue. Before the birth of his daughter, Hoon entered rehab again. In August, Blind Melon planned to tour to support their album Soup, so Hoon allowed a drug counselor to accompany him on the road. The counselor, unable to keep Hoon from relapsing, was dismissed days before Hoon 's death. After a disappointing performance in Houston on October 20, Hoon launched himself into an all - night drug binge. The next day, Saturday, October 21, 1995, Blind Melon was scheduled to play a show in New Orleans at Tipitina 's. The band 's sound engineer, Lyle Eaves, went to the tour bus to awaken Hoon for a sound check, but Hoon was unresponsive. An ambulance arrived, and Hoon was pronounced dead at the scene, at the age of 28. The cause of death was attributed to a cocaine overdose. Hoon was buried at Dayton Cemetery in Dayton, Indiana. His grave is inscribed with a line from Blind Melon 's song `` Change '', the first song he wrote : `` I know we ca n'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, 1997. On September 17, 2008, the book A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other : The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon by Greg Prato was published. References Jump up ^ Shannon Hoon - AllMusic Jump up ^ Death of lead singer Shannon Hoon has n't stopped Blind Melon 's music JOHN WIRT. Advocate -- Baton Rouge, La. November 8, 1995 Jump up ^ `` Obituary : Shannon Hoon ''. The Independent. Retrieved 2015 - 10 - 21. Jump up ^ Promoter Tears Strip Off Naked Rocker, Pamela Fayerman, Vancouver Sun, November 2, 199w. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Dazed and Confused : 10 Classic Drugged - Out Shows, Blind Melon at Woodstock, 1994 - LSD ''. Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 2015 - 10 - 21. Jump up ^ `` The Homecoming, His Mother Feared Rock 's Shannon Hoon Would n't Make It Back Alive ; Tragically, She Was Right ''. People Magazine. 1995 - 11 - 06. Retrieved 2015 - 10 - 21. ^ Jump up to : `` Shannon Hoon 1967 -- 1995 ''. Rolling Stone. November 30, 1995. Retrieved August 13, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Tippecanoe Public Library Local Newspaper Birth, Death, Engagement and Marriage Index Genealogy Resources ''. Retrieved January 4, 2008. Jump up ^ A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other : The Story of Shannon Hoon and : Greg Prato : 9780615252391 : Amazon.com : Books Bibliography Prato, Greg ( 2008 ). A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other : The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon. Createspace. ISBN 0 - 615 - 25239 - 7. Weitz, Brad ( 2012 ). From Your Friends -- Art, Photos and Stories Inspired by Blind Melon. Lulu. Weitz, Brad / Mester, Csaba ( 2012 ). Sweet Meloncholy. Take On 1 or 2 / Garage Art. ISBN 978 - 0 - 615 - 74029 - 4. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Shannon Hoon Biography portal Blind Melon Official Website Shannon Hoon on IMDb Shannon Hoon at AllMusic Shannon Hoon at Find a Grave Blind Melon Glen Graham Brad Smith Rogers Stevens Christopher Thorn Travis Warren Shannon Hoon Studio albums Blind Melon Soup Nico For My Friends Compilations / Appearances Encomium : A Tribute to Led Zeppelin Schoolhouse Rock ! Rocks Classic Masters The Best of Blind Melon Live albums Live at the Palace Videos Letters from a Porcupine Songs `` Tones of Home '' `` No Rain '' `` Galaxie '' `` Three Is a Magic Number '' Related articles Discography Unified Theory MusicBrainz : 35288322 - 831f - 49f9 - 96ec - 66173c873f7e Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shannon_Hoon&oldid=804517629 '' Categories : 1967 births 1995 deaths 20th - century American singers Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock singers American alternative rock musicians American folk rock musicians American harmonica players American male guitarists American male singer - songwriters American singer - songwriters American rock guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters Backing vocalists Blind Melon members Burials in Indiana Cocaine - related deaths in Louisiana Drug - related deaths in Louisiana Singers from Indiana People from Lafayette, Indiana Songwriters from Indiana 20th - century American guitarists Guitarists from Indiana Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from December 2014 Articles needing additional references from August 2009 All articles needing additional references Articles with hCards Articles needing additional references from August 2017 Articles contradicting other articles Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano Nederlands Polski Português Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 9 October 2017, at 15 : 04. 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Question: who was the lead singer for blind melon
Answer: Richard Shannon Hoon