Train is an American rock band from San Francisco that formed in 1993. As of 2025, the band consists of Pat Monahan, Butch Walker, Hector Maldonado, Jerry Becker, and Matt Musty (drums).
The band has had many lineup changes, with Monahan serving as the sole constant original member.
members: Patrick Monahan
formed in: San Francisco
labels: Columbia Records, Atlantic Records
genres: rock music, pop rock
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
Following the dissolution of his Led Zeppelin cover band "Rogues Gallery", singer Pat Monahan left his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, in late 1993. He resettled in California and crossed paths with Berklee College of Music alumnus Rob Hotchkiss, who performed in coffee houses and local clubs. The two shared lead vocals, with Hotchkiss on guitar and harmonica, and Monahan playing percussion, including a modified conga attached to a kick-drum pedal. Hotchkiss had been the lead singer for L.A.-based Apostles. After deciding to form a full band, the duo recruited Jimmy Stafford (lead guitarist for The Apostles) on guitar, Charlie Colin on bass, and Scott Underwood on drums, thus solidifying Train's lineup in 1994. Train attempted to get...
"Drops of Jupiter", initially released and sometimes still listed as "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)", is a song written and recorded by American rock band Train. The power ballad was released on January 29, 2001, as the lead single from their second studio album, Drops of Jupiter (2001).
The song entered the top five of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and also became an international hit, reaching the top 10 in eight other countries. The European single has tracks "It's Love", "This Is Not Your Life", and "Sharks" as its B-sides.
Lead singer Pat Monahan stated that the song was inspired by his late mother, who had died after a struggle with cancer, and that the opening lines "came to [him] in a dream". He told VH1's Behind the Music: "The process of creation wasn't easy. I just couldn't figure out what to write, but then I woke up from a dream about a year after my mother passed away with the words 'back in the atmosphere'...It was just her way of saying what it was like – she was swimming through the planets and came to me with drops of Jupiter in her hair."
Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that it "demonstrates a truly artistic lyrical bent that merits instant acceptance of this credible rock-edged song". He sums up the review saying "add piano, a splendid orchestral backdrop, and a vocal shimmering with passion and personality, and this is a runaway track for Train".
There are two music videos for this song. The first one shows the band performing it on a stage, with a large banner reading "TRAIN" in the green-lit background. Clips of a woman performing various actions in various backgrounds related to the lyrics (e.g., Jupiter, holding her hands out in the rain) are inserted into various parts of the song.