William Ross Turpin (born February 8, 1971) is an American musician. He is best known for being the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Collective Soul Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of the brothers Ed (lead vocalist) and Dean Roland (rhythm guitarist), Will Turpin (bassist), Johnny Rabb (drummer), a ...

. He is also a solo artist, and tours with his backing band, the Way. His debut EP, ''The Lighthouse'', was released in 2011. He owns an indie record label called Gooey Music.

Life and career

Early life and career beginnings

Turpin was born in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

, and raised in

Stockbridge, Georgia Stockbridge is a city in Henry County, Georgia, Henry County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of 2020, its population was 28,973. Stockbridge is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. History The area was settled in 1829 when C ...

. Turpin's father, Bill, opened Real 2 Reel Studios in nearby

Jonesboro, Georgia Jonesboro () is a city in and the county seat of Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,235 in 2020. The city's name was originally spelled Jonesborough. During the American Civil War, the final skirmish in the Atlanta ...

in 1976. Turpin began taking piano lessons when he was eight years old. He majored in

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

while attending

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

and

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

. He is married to Donna, and they have three children.

Collective Soul

Turpin joined Collective Soul in 1994.

Other projects

Turpin makes an appearance on the album ''How Do You Live'' (1997) by Michelle Penn. He has collaborated with Atlanta-based group Abel, Rawls & Hayes on several albums. Turpin served as the producer for the album ''Certified Organic'' by Michael Tolcher. He performs bass on Collective Soul bandmate Ed Roland's unreleased solo album ''

Anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

'', and is featured in the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the track "Searching For."

Solo career

Turpin released his first solo EP, ''The Lighthouse'', on October 11, 2011. This five-track EP features collaborations from Collective Soul bandmates Ed Roland, Joel Kosche, and Ryan Hoyle; along with guitarist

Peter Stroud Peter Stroud is a US guitarist best known for his work with Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, Pete Droge, and Sarah McLachlan. He is cofounder of 65amps, a company manufacturing guitar amplifiers. Biography Peter Stroud was born in Greensboro, North ...

. To promote the release, Turpin formed a band called the Way to back him at live performances. The band originally featured Jason Fowler and Scott Davidson, with Mark Wilson joining the lineup afterwards. Davidson left the band in 2013. Turpin recorded a version of " What Child Is This?" for the charity album ''A Rock By The Sea Christmas: Volume Three'' (2012). On February 7, 2013, Turpin and the Way performed a

Stageit Stageit is a web-based performance venue headquartered in Hollywood, California. It hosts paid performances by musical artists who perform live via webcam. The performances are not archived or duplicated for distribution. Stageit currency To pu ...

concert held at Real 2 Reel Studios. This show was recorded and later released as a live EP, ''The Lighthouse (Live from Real 2 Reel Studios)''. Beginning in 2013, he has hosted annual Christmas rock concerts titled "Rock the Cradle" for churches each December. Turpin began recording his first studio album, ''Serengeti Drivers'', in October 2012. The album was released on June 8, 2018.

Discography

; With Collective Soul ; Solo * ''The Lighthouse'' (2011) * ''The Lighthouse (Live from Real 2 Reel Studios)'' (2013) * ''Serengeti Drivers (2018)

References

External links

* 1971 births 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians Alternative rock bass guitarists American alternative rock musicians American male singers American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rock singers Collective Soul members Florida State University alumni Georgia State University alumni Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Living people Musicians from Atlanta People from Fairbanks, Alaska People from Stockbridge, Georgia Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American singers 21st-century American bass guitarists {{US-rock-musician-stub