Charlie Collin, bassist and founding member of the American pop-rock band Train, best known for the songs Drops of Jupiter and Meet Virginia, has died aged 58.
Colin’s sister, Carolyn Stephens, confirmed her brother’s death to The Associated Press on Wednesday. TMZ.com reports that he fell to his death in the rain while house-sitting for a friend in Brussels, Belgium.
Colin grew up in California and Virginia. He played in a band called the Apostles after college with guitarist Jimmy Stafford and singer Rob Hotchkiss. The band eventually disbanded and Colin moved to Singapore for a year to write jingles.
The trio eventually moved to San Francisco, where Train formed with singer Pat Monahan in the early ’90s. According to an interview with Colin and Hotchkiss in Berklee’s alumni magazine, Colin brought in drummer Scott Underwood to round out the group.
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 number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Train’s debut album, Meet Virginia, cracked the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, but it cemented the band’s success with their sophomore album, Drops of Jupiter.
The eight-time platinum title Drop Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) — which featured Rolling Stones session pianist Chuck Leavell and Leonard Cohen’s string player Paul Buckmaster, and was written about the death of Monahan’s mother — also earned No. 5. Singers along with two Grammy Awards, Best Rock Song and Best Instrumental Arrangement.
Colin left the train in 2003 due to drug abuse. „Charlie was an incredible bass player, but he was in a lot of pain, and the way he was handling it was very painful for everyone around him,” Monahan told NBC San Diego.
In 2015, he reunited with Hotchkiss to form a new band, The Painbirds, along with Tom Loose. In 2017 he formed another band, Side Deal, with Sugar Ray’s Stan Frazier and Pawnshop Kings’ Joel and Scott Owen.
On Wednesday, the band Train appeared on the Facebook and X social media pages to pay tribute to Colin. „When I met Charlie Collin, front left, I fell in love with him. He’s such a sweet guy and what a handsome chap,” it says. “Let’s make one fair band.
„His unique bass and beautiful guitar playing got us noticed in SF and beyond. He will always have a warm place in my heart. I always tried to pull him closer, but he had his own vision. You’re a legend Charlie. Love that angelic outfit. .
Before his death, Colin documented his time in Brussels, writing in a March Instagram post that it was „officially my favorite city.”