Died On This Date (October 21, 1995) Shannon Hoon / Blind Melon

themusicsover October 21, 2009 2 Comments

Richard Shannon Hoon
September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995

Shannon Hoon was the lead singer of ’90s alternative rock band, Blind Melon.  The band formed in Los Angeles in 1991 and were quickly awarded a recording contract with Capitol Records.  Meanwhile, Hoon was raising his profile on the Los Angeles scene by befriending Axl Rose, and subsequently singing back up on Guns N Roses’ Use Your Illusion albums and making a cameo in their “Dont Cry” video.  This helped spark a frenzy for Blind Melon by the time their debut self-titled album dropped in September of 1992.  The album eventually became a hit thanks to the hit song “No Rain” and the video that made a pop icon out of its “Bee Girl” character.  The band were now touring with the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Soundgarden and Ozzy Osbourne while Blind Melon was on it’s way to multi-platinum status.  Unfortunately, Hoon’s actions were becoming more and more erratic  due to his heavy drug usage.  After the release of their second album, Soup, in 1995, Blind Melon once again,  hit the road.  Hoon had been attempting to rehab at that time, but fell beck into his bad habits while on the tour.  He died of a cocaine overdose on the band’s tour bus following a show in Houston.  He was 28 years old.

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