Spirit of America

Spirit of America is the 1975 follow-up to the Capitol Records compilation of music by The Beach Boys, Endless Summer, released the previous year. After the enormous success of its predecessor, Capitol rounded up the few remaining early hits that were not released on Endless Summer, as well as some worthy album tracks, in addition to two rare singles, "The Little Girl I Once Knew" and "Break Away". Although it features only a handful of genuine hits, Spirit of America proved to be another success for The Beach Boys' former label, reaching number 8 at home and going gold. The "Spirit of America" (and "Endless Summer") record album cover art illustrator is Keith McConnell. As with Endless Summer, Spirit of America was compiled and released while The Beach Boys were contracted with Reprise Records and, as such, is not considered an "official" album of theirs. Due to the appearance of more comprehensive and updated hit packages, Endless Summer, Spirit of America, and the 1982 followup Sunshine Dream have long since been deleted from the group's catalog.