UNDERNEATH This DECEPTIVELY HAPPY #1 Song is a DEVASTATING Secret! | Professor of Rock
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Published 2024-03-19
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Hey music junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you remember the days when music was in a Walkman instead of a cloud subscribe below right now. You’ll dig this music community the stories straight from the legends We also have a Patreon you'll want to check out. There you’ll find an additional catalog of exclusive content and you can even become an honorary producer to help us curate this music history.
It’s time for another episode of our series Bottled Lightning. This is a sad one.. in 1990, Blind Melon frontman Shannon Hoon wrote in his journal, "My hometown really never held a future for me, except maybe a prison term or an early funeral. My life has changed so much and now my dreams of singing to the world are very close.” Needing to escape what he considered a stifling small-town existence in Lafayette, Indiana, Shannon boarded a Greyhound bus in March 1990. His destination? California, the land of golden opportunities. Arriving in Los Angeles with guitar in hand, Hoon set about searching for a rock band and a new lease on life.
But Shannon wasn’t the first member of Blind Melon to get there. Ahead of him, back in 1988, two childhood friends and musicians from Mississippi: guitarist Rogers Stevens and bassist Brad Smith had already set up camp. They had come to LA for the same reasons. To chase their musical dreams. While in the Sunshine State, they were in and out of several transitory bands. Later they met Hoon through a mutual friend at a party. There Shannon auditioned for the duo, playing an original song called "Change" on his acoustic guitar.
Rogers and Brad were sold and immediately brought him aboard. Shannon’s song had the same kind of vibe and the same kind of attitude they wanted for their music. Previously, the pair had met rhythm guitarist Christopher Thorn at a different audition and invited him to join as well. Chris, who originated in Pennsylvania – kept the California transplant streak going. Months later, the foursome called upon Glen Graham, a drummer from the Mississippi club circuit, to round out the band.
With Graham in place, the quintet’s first order of business was to record a demo, which once finished caught fire immediately. Almost from the get-go buzz started generate around the band, which they called Blind Melon. Apparently, it was a term Brad’s father used to call his ‘unlikely-to-succeed next-door neighbors.’ “We’d only been together for like a week,” said Shannon. “And the four track fell into someone’s hands and we got a call...
All Comments (21)
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Poll: Who is your pick for the greatest singer who peaked in the 90s?
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I never thought this song was "deceptively happy". And I don't understand why I sleep all day And I start to complain that there's no rain And all I can do is read a book to stay awake And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape I suffered bad depression in my teens and twenties and I knew he was talking about. In 52 now and for the first time in decades I'm not on any antidepressants or antianxiety meds. It's been a long journey. Wish Shannon and other 1990s musicians could have overcome their demons.
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This song, every single time I hear it, brings back a flood of memories. Man, 90s were the second and last 60s before the new age of technology. This will never, ever happen again. I truly do miss those years, but I am blessed to have experienced them.
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When blind melon was coming up I was a young husband and new father. I was only 21 in 1989. I’m an older gen x but this song made me weep for my lost youth. What 21 year olds are married now? Who are fathers at 24? I moved too fast and longed for my fellows. When Shannon died I was shocked. We had only lost Kurt a short time before. Again, I saw my youth slowly dying with the music at the time. But life goes on doesn’t it? Live well, now. Not then. Not tomorrow. Now.
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I lost a friend Daniel Subberfield to cancer, he was only 18, I was practicing No Rain to show him, he died before I could. When I hear those first notes on the radio, I always think of Dan.
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Bee Girl was great. She was iconic for people who felt out of place, and I adored her.
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My dad who was a musician (and addict) loved Blind Melon and No Rain. Dad was in recovery for about 20 years and died of an accidental OD (about 14 years ago). As a teenager I remember him jammin this song and growing a real connection with my half-sisters after their mom died of cancer. I have very strong emotions around this song recalling how much my dad loved my sisters (and I) and that was his way of promising that he would never leave them... Bittersweet, but I love it and the memories.
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Growing up in rural Mulberry Indiana, I was a neighbor and Shannon was my friend
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Chris Farley was in the bee suit doing a promo for SNL when Blind Melon was a guest. Very funny
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When Shannon died, I was truly gutted. I LOVED this band!!! It was such a horrible loss to watch this incredibly talented young band break with the loss of Shannon. They were soooo unique at that time, these guys had the opportunity to grow into a band with some serious longevity. My introduction with losing a favorite musician to drugs was Andy Gibb and I didn’t even know anything about drugs or addiction, Shannon was my 2nd heartbreak to this vile disease. I am adopted and remember equating finding my birth family with this video and how I would feel to find my people. I found them and my incredibly beautiful and talented nephews pulled out thier guitars and sung this song for me on video when I found them, I had obviously told thier mother about this song. It is one of the most cherished moments of my life and I will never forget it. RIP Shannon and Thank you Blind Melon. ❤️🌻🦋❤️
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I should be dead from crack cocaine, but I was fortunate enough to respond to treatment, and changed my life around in '89. No Rain was just another good radio song to me, but I first saw the video a couple of yeas ago. I now have a granddaughter about the age of the bee girl in the video, and I can't stop smiling watching that video. Thanks for brightening my day.
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I was 30 when this came out. A wife and mom. Wondering about the life choices I had made. This song not only touched the “teenagers” of the day, it also had an effect many others like me. I still cry most of the time when I hear it. It touched me all the way to my inner soul. Truly one of the greatest of all time! ❤
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Every employee at the records store I managed loved this song, and that was a rare happening. We called their music hippie-rock, cause to us they brought back that peace, love and rock n roll vibe of the 60's. I think fondly of one of my coworkers, whom we lost at the young age of 33 due to diabetes. She was the biggest supporter of Blind Melon. I hope she and Shannon are trippy-dippy dancing around together up in heaven.
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I had only heard “no rain”, but in my early 20s (2007) I went on an aimless road trip. A friend gave me the Blind Melon CD, and man, I put it on as I was driving through the mountains of Tennessee, and man, every song just HIT SO HARD emotionally with what I was going through. The road trip was indeed an attempt to escape, find myself, to change. I became obsessed with the whole album. There’s an individualistic streak, rebellious attitude running through all the lyrics in the album. Searing introspection, and yet, it does all feel like a cry for help, for “someone to save him”… Tones of Home, Change, Sleepyhouse, Drive… such great glimpses into that beautiful free spirit called Shannon Hoon, just trying to figure out how to navigate this chaotic realm and find peace and happiness.
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I had two brothers, one (Josh) lived with me in New Orleans and I know from him that trying to get clean and stay sobor is very hard in a place like New Orleans. My other brother (Jimi) looked like Hoon was a metal guitar player. and had a picture of Jimi and Hoon. - The three of us CRIED when we heard Hoon passed! I am glad that Josh survived (but would die of Covid) and lived another 7+yrs after being sober! The song though lyrically sad - still make me smile when I hear it! Thank you Adam for bringing this man's story to light! on the song and Video -- My aunt and I saw it said it reminded her of me as a kid - We grew up around Beatniks, bikers, artists, musicians and hippies. They were and are my people, where when I wasn't treated well by the 'normals' because I had a visible disability. The video struck a cord with me - I was that kid - just looking for acceptance and was lucky to be surrounded by my people!
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Glad you did this video bro. Blind Melon is one of the most underrated bands of all times. Their debut album is a masterpiece! Every song on that album is awesome. It's one of those albums that you never want to hit skip on.
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It's weird how raw the emotion of losing him still is. Somehow these young rock star deaths leave a deep emotional scar. I was trying to tell my teen daughter about their story and found my voice cracking. The cool thing is that she knew the song after I sang 2 lines, so No Rain remains relevant. Thanks for sharing this story.
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In 1992 I was backstage at their concert at the 23 East Cabaret in Ardmore PA. I had a five minute conversation with Shannon about how he liked to rub tshirt tags between his thumb and index finger to relax. It was so strange yet so endearing. I was 22, drunk and totally psyched to be chatting with him about anything. Good times!
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Sadly, I've always related to this song. I still love it and I'm a boomer, not gen x. Great music transcends the generations. Was so sad about Shannon. I hope the remaining band members are doing well.
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One of all time favorite videos and songs of the 90s . I think we have all felt like that little bee girl looking for a place we fit in perfectly, a circle of people that accepted you for who you were. The lyrics and music to the song paints a picture I believe everyone has felt. Rest in Peace Shannon Hoon gone but never forgotten. Great episode professor on one of the most iconic songs of the 90s
