The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari ( S1/2 )

The single peaked at the number 14 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with "409" also charting at number 76, making it the band's first double-sided hit single. It placed at number 10 on the Cash Box sales chart, and number 5 on UPI's national weekly survey used by newspapers. According to English pop music statistician Joseph Murrells in The Book of Golden Discs, 1978 edition, it placed number 3 on one of the four major national charts then recognised, probably Variety. Certainly its regional sales backed up these higher placings (than Billboard). As well as its Capitol-record sales in New York, it was No. 1 in Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Minneapolis, Buffalo and Hartford; and top five in Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, Tucson, Nashville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Springfield MASS.

Capitol A&R executive Nick (Nik) Venet, who signed the group and is listed as producer on their first two albums, is quoted in the Steven Gaines book as saying regarding the release that "The biggest order Capitol had from a single market all year [1962] was from New York City - where there was no surfing. It sold approximately nine hundred thousand records, but not enough for a gold."

In October 1962, the "Surfin' Safari" single was the first to be released by the band in the United Kingdom. However, given mediocre reviews at best, the single failed to make any impact on the charts. It did qualify as the Beach Boys' first international chart-topper, however. By the end of September it had peaked at number seven in Australia's Music Maker chart — only reaching the Billboard top 20 the following week — then in November spent three weeks at number one in Sweden (both charts cited by contemporary issues of Billboard). In Germany, the World Pacific Studios recording of the song was used as the single release instead of the more well-known version. The single failed to chart.

In January 1970, the World Pacific Studios sessions recording of the song was issued on Trip Records as the B-side of a "Surfin'" single re-issue. The single however failed to make any impact on the charts.

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