Charlie Colin, founding member of the group Train, dies at 58

NEW YORK (AP) — Charlie Colin, bassist and founding member of American pop-rock band Train, best known for early hits like “Drops of Jupiter” and “Meet Virginia,” has died. He was 58 years old.

Colin’s sister, Carolyn Stephens, confirmed her brother’s death to the Associated Press on Wednesday. He died after slipping and falling in the shower while house-sitting for a friend in Brussels, Belgium. celebrity website TMZ.com reported.

Colin grew up in California and Virginia and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston.

He played in a band called Apostles after college with guitarist Jimmy Stafford and singer Rob Hotchkiss. The group eventually disbanded and Colin moved to Singapore for a year to write jingles.

Eventually, Colin, Hotchkiss and Stafford moved to San Francisco, where Train formed in the early ’90s with singer Pat Monahan. Colin brought in drummer Scott Underwood to complete the band, according to an interview with Colin and Hotchkiss in Berklee alumni magazine.

As a founding member of Train, Colin played on the band’s first three records, 1998’s self-titled album, 2001’s “Drops of Jupiter” and 2003’s “My Private Nation.” The latter two releases peaked at 6th place on the Billboard 200 chart.

“Meet Virginia,” from Train’s debut album, reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, but it was their second album, “Drops of Jupiter,” that confirmed the group’s success.

The eight-times platinum track “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” – which features the rolling stones ′ session pianist Chuck Leavell and Leonard Cohen by string orchestrator Paul Buckmaster and was written about the death of Monahan’s mother – reached number five on the same chart. It also won two Grammys, for Best Rock Song and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying the Singer(s).

Colin left Train in 2003 due to drug addiction. “Charlie is an incredible bass player, but he was in a lot of pain, and the way he dealt with that was very painful for everyone around him,” Monahan told NBC San Diego.

In 2015, he reunited with Hotchkiss to create a new group called Painbirds, alongside Tom Luce.

In 2017, he formed another group, The Side Deal, with Stan Frazier of Sugar Ray and Joel and Scott Owen of the PawnShop Kings.

On Wednesday, a tribute to Colin appeared on the Train group’s official Facebook and social media pages. “When I met Charlie Colin, left front, I fell in love with him. He was the nicest guy and what a beautiful boy. Let’s create a group that is the only reasonable thing to do,” we read.

“His unique bass playing beautiful guitar work helped people notice us in SF and beyond. I will always have a warm place for him in my heart. I always tried to bring him closer but he had his own vision. You are a legend, Charlie. Go charm these angels.

Before his death, Colin documented his time in Brussels, writing “Officially My Favorite City” in a March. Instagram post.