Shannon Hoon

Richard Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995) was the lead singer of the band Blind Melon.

Final Year and Death

In 1995, Hoon and his long time girlfriend Lisa Crouse had a daughter they named Nico Blue. After the birth of his daughter, Hoon entered rehab again. Blind Melon needed to tour to support their album Soup, 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 his pattern of drug use and was dismissed from the tour less than a month into it. Without the counselor to rein him in, Hoon's usage of drugs escalated. After a disasterous performance in Houston, Hoon launched into an all-night long coke binge, hurling blame all over the place. The next day, on October 21st, 1995, Blind Melon was scheduled to play a show in New Orleans at the famed venue, 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 rouse him. An ambulance was summoned and Hoon was pronounced dead on the scene. The cause of death was attributed to an accidental cocaine overdose. Hoon was buried in Dayton, Indiana; his grave is inscribed with the words to the first song he wrote, Change:

Related Topics:
Cocaine - Dayton, Indiana

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"I know we all can't stay here forever

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So I want to write my words on the face of today

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And then they'll paint it."

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In 1996, Blind Melon released their final album Nico as a tribute to Hoon with all proceeds going to his daughter and to programs helping musicians deal with drug problems.

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