BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥 Charlie Colin, bassist and founding member of the band Train, best known for their early-aughts hits like 鈥淒rops of Jupiter" and 鈥淢eet Virginia,鈥 has died. He was 58.
Colin鈥檚 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, .
Colin grew up in Southern California, later attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. After college, he played in a group called Apostles guitarist Jimmy Stafford and singer Rob Hotchkiss. The band eventually dissolved, and Colin moved to Singapore for a year to write jingles.
Eventually, Colin, Hotchkiss and Stafford relocated to San Francisco, where Train formed in the early '90s with singer Pat Monahan. Colin brought in drummer Scott Underwood to round out the group, according to an interview with Colin and Hotchkiss in Berklee鈥檚 alumni magazine.
As a founding member of the pop-rock band, Colin played on the band's first three records, 1998's self-titled album, 2001's 鈥淒rops of Jupiter鈥 and 2003's 鈥淢y Private Nation." The latter two releases peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart.
鈥淢eet Virginia,鈥 from Train's debut album, broke the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, but it was their sophomore album that confirmed the band's success.
The eight-times platinum title track 鈥淒rops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" featured ' session pianist Chuck Leavell and string orchestrator Paul Buckmaster and was written about the death of Monahan's mother. It hit No. 5 on the Billboard chart and earned two Grammys, including best rock song.
Colin left Train in 2003 because of substance abuse.
鈥淐harlie 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," Monahan .
In 2015, he reunited with Hotchkiss to start a new band called Painbirds, alongside Tom Luce. In 2017, he formed another band, the Side Deal, with Sugar Ray鈥檚 Stan Frazier and the PawnShop Kings鈥 Joel and Scott Owen.
On Wednesday, a tribute to Colin appeared on Train's social media pages.
鈥淲hen I met Charlie Colin, front left, I fell in love with him. He was the sweetest guy and what a handsome chap. Let鈥檚 make a band that鈥檚 the only reasonable thing to do,鈥 it reads.
鈥淗is unique bass playing a beautiful guitar work helped get folks to notice us in SF and beyond. I鈥檒l always have a warm place for him in my heart. I always tried to pull him closer but he had a vision of his own. You鈥檙e a legend, Charlie. Go charm the pants off those angels,鈥 the unsigned post continued.
Prior to his death, Colin documented his time in Brussels, deeming it 鈥渙fficially my favorite city鈥 in a March .
Colin also worked as the musical director of the Newport Beach Film Festival.
鈥淐harlie was a special part of the Newport Beach Film Festival family,鈥 said Todd Quartararo, co-founder of the Newport Beach Film Festival. 鈥淗is heart, compassion and creativity will surely be missed.鈥
He is survived by his parents, sister and niece.
