After the success of its predecessor Capitol rounded up the few remaining early hits that were not released on
Endless Summer, as well as some album tracks, in addition to two rare singles, "The Little Girl I Once Knew" (1965) and "Break Away" (1969). As with
Endless Summer,
Spirit of America was compiled and released while the Beach Boys were contracted to
Reprise Records and, as such, is not considered an "official" album. The song "Dance, Dance, Dance" featured in this album was also one of two Beach Boys tracks included in a promotional-only various artists compilation album issued by Capitol Records entitled "The Greatest Music Ever Sold" (Capitol SPRO-8511/8512), which was distributed to record stores during the 1976 Holiday season, as part of Capitol's "Greatest Music Ever Sold" campaign which promoted 15 "Best Of" albums that were released by the record label. "
Help Me, Rhonda" (the retitled original "Help Me, Ronda") from "Endless Summer" was the other Beach Boys song included. As with the
Endless Summer compilation, the 2-record set was pressed with Sides 1 & 4 on one disc and Sides 2 & 3 on the other. The
Spirit of America cover art illustrator was Keith McConnell, who also provided the cover art for
Endless Summer and the 1982 Beach Boys compilation
Sunshine Dream. ==Track listing==