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 cocaine overdose in 1995. 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, Bob Dylan. After graduating from McCutcheon High School in 1985, Hoon joined a local band named Styff Kytten, which also featured guitarist Michael Kelsey. He took on the role of frontman and lead singer for the band. It was around this time that he wrote his first song, “Change.” 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. In July 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.[citation needed] The counselor, unable to keep Hoon from relapsing, was dismissed days before Hoon’s death. After a disappointing performance in Houston, Hoon launched himself into an all-night drug binge.[citation needed] The next day, on October 21, 1995, Blind Melon was scheduled to play a show in New Orleans at Tipitina’s. The band’s sound engineer, Owen Orzack, went to the tour bus to wake up Hoon for a sound check but was unable to rouse him. An ambulance arrived, and Hoon was pronounced dead on the scene, at the age of 28.[3] The cause of death was attributed to a cocaine overdose. more
