Haim discuss how 2019's 'Summer Girl' nearly involved Bono's guest vocals

LA band Haim joined producers Ariel Rechtshaid and Rostam on Song Exploder to discuss the genesis of their 2019 single 'Summer Girl' from last year’s Women in Music Pt. III.

In the episode, the sisters talk about how Rechtshaid’s cancer diagnosis informed the songwriting and their failed attempt to get Bono to sing on the track.

Women in Music Pt. III is up for the 2021 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, with the band also nabbing a nomination for Best Rock Performance for 'The Steps'. Last month, the group shared a remix of '3AM' by Toro y Moi.

Danielle and Rostam recalled in the episode how they approached Bono with the offer to sing on ‘Summer Girl’, with the former reaching out to the U2 frontman via text message.

The text invitation to collaborate on vocals featured the song’s closing line “and I can see the angels coming down / Like a wave that’s crashing on the ground”.

Danielle Haim explains that Bono was the first person who came into their heads for the song.

“In my head, I was like: ‘That’s such a Bono line, I can just picture Bono...Maybe we should ask him if he would sing that section of the song?'” Rostam says about the track's origins.

“And Danielle was like: ‘Well, you know I know him...when I lost my voice in Ireland, he sent me this care package – it was the sweetest thing – and he recommended a doctor.'”

Danielle fills in the gaps on the story, eventually explaining that illness struck the U2 frontman and he had to pull out of the collaboration.

“So I had Bono’s number, and they were like: ‘You’ve got to text Bono!’ I was like: ‘What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not gonna text Bono".

“I think we then got really super-drunk and Rostam finally convinced me to send the text. So I sent Bono the song, and he was so nice," Danielle adds. "He was like: ‘This is great, let me see where I fit in.’ My mind was exploding. Finally he texted me back and was like: ‘You know what: I’m so sick, I’m so sorry – unless you want a blown horn on this song; my voice is just so shot. I don’t think I can come up with anything in time,'” she said. “And that was that!”

Danielle took to social media at the time of the track's release to explain how personal the song really was for her. The song was written around the same time her partner Ariel was diagnosed with cancer.

“We were touring on and off at this time and every time we were on the phone with each other or when I would come home in between shows, I wanted to be this light that shined on him when he was feeling very dark. I wanted to be his hope when he was feeling hopeless,” she wrote on the band’s Twitter account.

Listen to the full episode below.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/40smDIpJeB7V1rnWBi8rSt