Songfacts®:

• The wildfires that devastated Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui in August 2023 were among the deadliest in modern US history. At least 102 people lost their lives, entire neighborhoods disappeared in a matter of hours, and centuries of history vanished in smoke. If you've ever strolled through Lahaina's narrow streets, shaded by that famous 19th century banyan tree, it's hard to imagine the whole thing gone, and yet, in the face of Hurricane Dora's winds, damaged power lines, and the cruel efficiency of dry brush, it was. By the time the fires were contained, more than 2,200 buildings were destroyed, most of the town's homes had been reduced to ash, and the bill ran over $6 billion. Some residents even had to throw themselves into the Pacific Ocean, clinging to life in saltwater rather than face the inferno onshore.
  
  On "Lahaina" the Doobies reflect on the devastating wildfire that swept through the Hawaiian town.
• "Lahaina" is personal. Doobies guitarist Patrick Simmons called the Hawaiian town his home since the 1990s, and the band's tribute song is both a commemoration of what was lost and a lifeline to those trying to piece their lives back together. Proceeds go to the People's Fund of Maui, helping the thousands who were displaced.
• Mick Fleetwood, who lost his own Maui restaurant in the fire, plays drums, while Hawaiians Jake Shimabukuro and Henry Kapono contribute ukulele and backing vocals, respectively.
• "Lahaina" is the closing track on Walk This Road, the Doobies' 16th album. Veteran producer John Shanks, who also helmed 2021's Liberté, oversaw the project. His method was spontaneous and slightly un-Doobie. As vocalist Tom Johnston explained to Uncut magazine, instead of hashing things out in a rehearsal room, band members came in one by one to write with Shanks at his place and then record it right away.
  
  "People would come in and sing or play on somebody else's tune, but there wasn't any interaction with the other band members initially," he said. "Whoever wrote it did with John, and that's something new for the band."