It was a cute little song, but hardly a career-maker, Train drummer Scott Underwood recalls thinking.
In fact, "Hey, Soul Sister" almost didn't make it onto the band's 2009 reunion record "Save Me, San Francisco"; the numbers crunchers working with the trio didn't think much of it.
"But our manager and our record company said not only is it going to make the record, it's going to be the first single," Underwood said, a move that turned out to be monumental in the annals of pop music.
"Hey, Soul Sister" - with its catchy ukulele harmonies and infectious "hey, hey, hey" refrain - has sold more than 5 million digital copies. That makes it the eighth most downloaded song of all time and the most ever for the band's label, Columbia Records. It also was the top-selling song on iTunes in 2010 and the second-biggest seller overall in the United States. The song earned the trio a Grammy this year for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.
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Not bad for a cute little song that heralded the return of a popular band many thought would never rise again.
Train, which headlines Casino del Sol's AVA Sunday, was an out-of-the-box sensation in the late 1990s with the rock-pop hit "Meet Virginia." Three years later, it upped the ante with the Grammy-winning single "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)." In 2003, it tried to do one better with "Calling All Angels."
"We were trying to top ourselves all the time, and we put more pressure and more focus on trying to write hit songs all the time and make a ton of money than we did on trying to write really good songs and believe in them and enjoy the process," Underwood said during a phone call Monday from Vancouver, where Train was performing with Maroon 5. "We weren't enjoying the process anymore."
And so Train did what bands do when they reached that crossroad: They split.
"There was no discussion of this is going to be a temporary break. It was almost a polite way: 'Let's have a separation,' but really, you're thinking … we're going to get a divorce," said Underwood, who started the San Francisco band with frontman Patrick Monahan and guitarist Jimmy Stafford in 1994. "We weren't talking, and it was very tense and uncomfortable for us to be on tour."
The three went their separate ways to get a little living under their belts. Underwood indulged his passion for real estate. Monahan recorded a solo album and had a No. 9 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts with "Her Eyes." Stafford wrote a book.
"And we all failed. It was terrible," Underwood said with a chuckle. "I lost so much money in real estate in this development deal I did. Jimmy, he doesn't know he failed, but his book is pretty terrible. … And then Pat's record didn't do very well."
So the trio did what rock musicians do when they suddenly realize that what they had was pretty good: They reunited.
In a London studio in 2009, the trio mended long-broken fences, hashed out the bickering and the backstabbing, and smoothed over all those festering ill feelings. They became friends again.
"We grew up. We evolved," Underwood said.
The evolution produced "Save Me, San Francisco," the band's fifth album that in many ways it feels like its first, Underwood said. The sound is more uptempo and organic; the lyrics are snappy and infectious, and there's a palpable feeling that the music-makers really like each other and what they are doing.
In November, they will go back into the studio to record the follow-up.
"This does feel sort of like a sophomore record," Underwood said, primarily because many of the band's new, young fans have only "Save Me, San Francisco" as a reference.
"It's almost like we have to do it all over again. 'Soul Sister' was a new beginning for us, and there's a very young audience that didn't know who Train was. … This is like the second record, and so the second record is always the tough one. It's a really important record," he said.
Train will be out with Maroon 5 until the end of the month, and Underwood said it will go into the studio and record the next album throughout the holidays. He said the band hopes to release the first single early next year and the album by early spring.
"This has been 2 1/2 years of touring, and this is the end of it. It has been an amazing way to end it - unbelievable concerts," said the father of two young children. "We have this huge stage and it feels so good to play arenas and huge amphitheaters and have them sold out. Every night is mind-blowing, but we need to go home. We're all pretty tired."
IF YOU GO
• What: Train in concert.
• When: 8 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: Casino del Sol's AVA, 5655 W. Valencia Road.
• Tickets: $25-$65 through tickets.solcasinos.com
