The three sisters of the pop-rock band Haimhave the kind of story biopic producers must dream about. Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim grew up in Southern California playing classic rock and ’80s pop covers in a band called Rockinhaim with their father, a former Israeli soccer player, and mother, a singer who once won a gong on The Gong Show. The girls kept playing together, and after a foray into major-label teen pop with The Valli Girls, decided to start writing their own music.
Just a few years later, Haim’sdebut album, “Days Are Gone,” broke into Billboard’s top ten and lots of critics’ best-of lists. The sisters played major festivals like Glastonbury and Bonnaroo — and played “Rhiannon” at Stevie Nicks’ house.
Their sound perfectly captures the vintage influences of their parents’ music, while also borrowing from hip-hop and R&B. That open relationship with pop has earned the sisters lots of fans — and a Grammy nomination for best new artist. “I don’t think genres are a thing anymore,” Este Haim tells Kurt Andersen. “That’s what makes music exciting right now.”
(Originally aired September 13, 2013)
Bonus Track: “Oh Well” (Fleetwood Mac cover) live in Studio 360
Bonus Track: “Honey and I” live in Studio 360
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!