Train is a Grammy Award-winning rock-pop band formed in San Francisco, California. To date, three of their albums have peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and have sold a total of over 4 million albums in the US. Four of their songs have been top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Train has found success on modern adult contemporary radio stations, where they have had nine songs in the top 20 of the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart.
The group started out in San Francisco with only two members, Patrick Monahan (lead vocals) who was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Rob Hotchkiss (guitar, vocals), who performed in coffee houses and local clubs. Monahan had previously been a member of a Led Zeppelin cover band before turning his attention to creating his own music. Hotchkiss had been the lead singer for L.A.-based "Apostles." After deciding to form a full band, the duo recruited Jimmy Stafford on guitar, Charlie Colin on bass and, at a later date, Scott Underwood as drummer. Train attempted to get signed under Columbia Records in 1996 but were rejected. By 1997 they were touring nationally, opening concerts for groups such as Barenaked Ladies and Counting Crows.
The album “Train” was self-produced for $25,000 and three singles from the album were released. The first single released, "Free," was largely a hit on rock stations. The second, "Meet Virginia" was a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #15[1], and the third single from this album was "I Am". The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
The album Drops of Jupiter was released on March 27, 2001 and became Train's first multi-platinum album, due in part to the strength of the leading single. The band's third album, My Private Nation, was released in June 2003 with "Calling All Angels" as the lead single. "Calling All Angels" became Train's third top 20 hit, and was a major hit on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. Train began recording their fourth studio album For Me, It's You in Atlanta during the summer of 2005.
On August 11, 2009 Train released their first single in over 3 years, "Hey Soul Sister," from their most recent album Save Me, San Francisco, which was released on October 27, 2009. The single has become a major success, becoming their second-career Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in its sixteenth week on the chart, after surging from #23 to #7 on the week of January 30, 2010 largely due to an 81% increase in digital sales from the previous week. It is now their highest-charting hit since 2001 "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)".