With this album, a whole generation discovered the songs of the Beach Boys. In the summer of 1974, the band released a double LP with songs from the years 1963 to 1966. Endless Summer reached number 1 in the charts and remained in the hit lists for a total of three years. Millions of listeners, who were too young to buy the singles when they were first released, now felt that they were being addressed. The collection contains the band's most popular songs, including of course Surfin' U. S.A., I Get Around, California Girls.

Reviews

"This was the album by which millions of sons of late baby boomers (and sons and daughters of the early ones) first really discovered the Beach Boys, beyond hearing the occasional oldie on the radio. It was the summer of 1974, and the Beach Boys were still trying to get themselves back on track commercially after a seven-year commercial dry spell, when this double LP of their 1963-1966 material (all but one cut predating Pet Sounds) came along and did the job. Endless Summer, which was assembled in consultation with Mike Love, soared to number one and charted high over two subsequent summers and attracted the enthusiastic attention of millions of listeners too young to have bought their singles back when." – All Music Guide