Hits (The Beach Boys EP)

Background

All four tracks on this EP had previously come out as singles. In the United States, every one of them made the Billboard Hot 100. "Help Me, Rhonda" hit number one on May 29, 1965. "California Girls" climbed to number three on August 28, 1965. "The Little Girl I Once Knew" reached number twenty on January 1, 1966. "Barbara Ann" peaked at number two on January 29, 1966. Three of these singles had also been released earlier in the United Kingdom. There, "Help Me, Rhonda" and "California Girls" both landed in the top thirty of the Record Retailer chart, while "Barbara Ann" hit number three in March 1966.

Chart performance

In the 1960s, Record Retailer maintained a separate chart for EPs alongside its album listings. The Beach Boys' EP titled Hits arrived in May 1966 and first reached the number-one position on June 4, holding that spot for four weeks until the Walker Brothers' I Need You took over. It climbed back to the top on September 10 for another four-week run, only to be knocked off again by the same Walker Brothers release. A third stint began on October 29, lasting seven weeks.

The Who's EP claimed the top spot over Christmas and into early 1967, but Hits regained it on January 21 for another seven weeks. After a five-month absence, it returned on August 12 for six weeks, its fifth time at number one. In late September and early October, it traded the top position weekly with the Four Tops Hits EP, as the EP format was fading. Hits made its eighth and final return on November 25, staying for four weeks, and was the reigning number one when the chart ended on December 16, 1967. Across all its runs, Hits spent 34 weeks at number one, a record for any EP.