Charlie Colin, Bassist and Founding Member of Train, Dies at 58

Steven J. Horowitz
·2 min read

Charlie Colin, a founding member of the group Train, has died at the age of 58 after he slipped and fell in the shower while house-sitting for a friend in Brussels, Belgium.

While circumstances around his death are scarce, sources told TMZ that no one found Colin until his friends returned home from their trip five days ago. His sister confirmed his passing to Variety.

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Colin was one of the original members of Train, which initially consisted of Pat Monahan, Rob Hotchkiss, Scott Underwood and Jimmy Stafford. As bassist for the band, Colin contributed to the group’s first three albums: 1999’s eponymous debut, 2001’s “Drops of Jupiter” and “My Private Nation.” He and the band had breakthrough success as a quintet with the 2001 hit “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me),” which hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy for best rock song and best instrumental arrangement accompanying vocalist(s).

Originally from Newport Beach, CA, the musician initially met fellow Train founding member Hotchkiss when he was in the seventh grade, and the two separately went on to attend Berklee School of Music where Colin studied jazz composition guitar. After moving to Los Angeles, Hotchkiss extended an invitation to Colin to join one of his bands, which had signed a deal with PolyGram Records.

Colin, Hotchkiss and Stafford formed the group Apostles before breaking up. After traveling the world, Colin returned Stateside and joined the newly formed Train around 1996. Alongside Train, he toured the world and had mainstream success before leaving the band in 2003 due to substance abuse.

“There was a lot of things that led to me leaving, but it really escalated into it,” Colin said in a 2023 interview with Delphine’s Circle. “We never took a break. We drove our tour bus into the parking lot of the recording studio for our second and third record. In Philadelphia, we made our one-and-a-half record… We just never stopped. It’s kind of one those things where you feel like this is too good to be true. Most bands have a lifespan of a few years.”

In the time since, Colin played with hard rock bands including Slipknot and Puddle of Mudd, and reunited with Hotchkiss in 2015 to form the band Painbirds alongside Tom Luce. In 2017, Colin formed the Side Deal with Sugar Ray’s Stan Frazier and the PawnShop Kings’ Joel and Scott Owen.

At the time of his death, he served as musical director for the Newport Beach Film Festival per his social media profiles.

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