The Beach Boys’ 50th-anniversary celebration really kicks into high gear this week as the group’s new album, “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” debuts at an eye-popping No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
It’s the band’s highest-charting set in nearly 38 years and launches with 61,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group’s last album to go higher was the 1974 greatest-hits package “Endless Summer,” which spent one week at No. 1 on Oct. 5 of that year.
The act breaks a record by widening its span of top 10s on the Billboard 200 to 49 years and one week. It first graced the top 10 with “Surfin’ U.S.A.” the week of June 15, 1963. The stretch is the longest among groups, passing the Beatles, whose top 10 span covers 47 years, seven months and three weeks (Feb. 8, 1964-Oct. 1, 2011).
In terms of studio sets, the new one is the act’s highest-ranked since 1965’s “Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)” reached No. 2. It’s also the group’s 14th top 10 album overall and first since 1976’s “15 Big Ones” (No. 8).