CHARLIE Colin was an American musician who co-founded the pop rock band Train.
Despite leaving the band after their mainstream breakthrough, Charlie Colin continued working in the music scene until his untimely death in May 2024.
Who was Train’s Charlie Colin?
Charlie Colin’s passion for music began at eight years old when he learned to play the guitar.
After his family moved from Virginia to Newport Beach, California, his guitar became his constant companion.
Despite pursuing both surfing and water polo while in school, Colin ended up going to the University of Southern California to explore his musical passions.
He later transferred to Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he focused on learning more instruments and on his singing.
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After college, Colin moved to Singapore, where he worked by writing and performing jingles for various companies.
In the early 1990s, Colin moved to San Francisco, where he, along with Jimmy Stafford – Train’s future lead guitarist – and Rob Hotchkiss started a band called Apostles.
They released a self-titled album in 1992, but they broke up after their record label folded.
In 1993, Colin met Pat Monahan, Train’s future lead singer.
The duo formed Train after inviting Stafford to play guitar and Scott Underwood to play drums.
Train formed in 1993 but didn’t score their first top-20 hit until 1999, with their song, Meet Virginia.
After leaving Train, Colin continued his music career, performing in bands including Food Pill, Painbirds, and The Side Deal.
Colin also dabbled in the art scene, collecting and curating collections for himself and friends, and giving back to charitable arts-based organizations.
According to his Instagram, he credited himself as an artist and Musical Director of the Newport Beach Film Festival.
On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, Colin’s mother revealed that the singer had died in a tragic accident earlier this month.
He reportedly slipped and fell in the shower while house-sitting for a friend in Brussels, Belgium.
Colin’s body wasn’t found until a few days later when his friends returned home from their trip.
He was just 58 years old.
When did Charlie Colin leave Train?
Charlie Colin left Train around 2003 due to substance abuse issues.
“I had a really great run, but it was difficult,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
“Charlie is one incredible bass player, but he was in a lot of pain, and the way he was dealing with it was very painful for everyone else around him,” said Pat Monahan in an interview with NBC San Diego.
Monahan recalled telling the band members they would have to choose between him and Colin.
“They weren’t happy about the choice. They were very clear that I put them in a very tough position,” he said.
In 2022, Colin sat down with Dan Clark on his podcast, Power Players with Dan Clark, opening up about his time in and out of the band.
“When I left Train, I went out because my ego and my identity were all at stake and I was thinking about that too much,” he told Clark.
“My role in Train, as far as a writer goes, Pat did most of the work lyrically, but I’ve usually pulled the music, ideas, and basic content of the song out of the ether.”
“I’m going to work it up and I would give him a lot to work with,” he added.
“I usually give him a phrase or two of an idea, and then he would take it and work on it.”
“For about eight years, Pat and I were on fire. We were fantastic writing partners.”
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Who is in the band Train?
Train was formed in San Francisco in 1993.
The original members included Pat Monahan on lead vocals, Rob Hotchkiss, Jimmy Stafford, Scott Underwood, and Charlie Colin.
The band reached mainstream success with the release of their debut studio album, Train, in 1998.
However, they truly became a household name after their 2001 album, Drops of Jupiter, which contained the lead single, Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me).
In 2009, the band released Save Me, San Francisco, which included the six-time platinum-certified hit Hey, Soul Sister.
Past members of Train include Johnny Colt, Brandon Bush, Drew Shoals, Luis Maldonado, Nikita Houston, and Sakai Smith.
Since 2024, the band has five members, including:
- Pat Monahan on lead vocals
- Taylor Locke on guitar and backup vocals
- Hector Maldonado on bass and backup vocals
- Jerry Becker on keyboards and guitar
- Matt Musty on drums
The band has released several studio albums, including:
- Train (1998)
- Drops of Jupiter (2001)
- My Private Nation (2003)
- For Me, It’s You (2006)
- Save Me, San Francisco (2009)
- California 37 (2012)
- Bulletproof Picasso (2014)
- Christmas in Tahoe (2015)
- Train Does Led Zeppelin II (2016)
- A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat (2017)
- AM Gold (2022)
Since the band’s inception, Train has sold over 30 million tracks and 10 million albums worldwide.
The band has also been nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won three, including Best Rock Song and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) in 2002.
They also won Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for Hey, Soul Sister in 2011.