Break Away (The Beach Boys Song) - Single Release

Single Release

The "Break Away" single backed with "Celebrate the News" was released through Capitol Records in the United States in June 1969. It was the band's final single of the 1960s and indeed was the band's penultimate single with Capitol Records before moving on to Warner Brothers. The single peaked at the number 63 spot on the Billboard charts, and reached number 35 in Record World and number 38 in Cash Box. The single was also released through Capitol Records in the same month in the United Kingdom, being the band's final single of the 1960s there. Capitol re-released it in Britain in June 1975, although on that occasion the single failed to make any impact on the charts.

On regional US charts the single made the Beach Boys' weakest showing in major markets since the Christmas single "The Man with All the Toys" five years earlier. Qualified success was seen in Los Angeles (KRLA), Fresno, Indianapolis (#15), Columbus (#11), Calgary (#14), Fargo (#17) and Council Bluffs (#4). Settling on the bottom rung of top twenty in Los Angeles and Fresno, it made just the top thirty in Chicago, Sacramento, areas of New England, but failing entirely elsewhere. It apparently made few or no showings on playlists throughout the entire Southern United States.

Typically for that era, the single fared much better in Britain, peaking at the number 6 position. It was number 10 in Malaysia and Ireland, number 17 in The Netherlands, number 20 in New Zealand, number 29 in Germany and number 38 in Canada. It would be the band's last single to chart in Germany until 1987.

Neither side of the single appeared on a regular Beach Boys LP. It made its album debut in 1975 as part of the Spirit of America compilation, and then the UK compilation 20 Golden Greats in 1976. It later appeared as a bonus track on the two-in-one CD for Friends and 20/20.