Real Gone Music Re-Releases The Sandals Soundtrack to The Endless Summer

Links: Real Gone Music

Hot damn, it’s summertime and that means it is always a great time to indulge in Bruce Brown’s The Endless Summer, a perfect documentary on the surf scene.

Brown’s greatest achievement, the California native showcased surf culture from around the world through the perspective of surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August. The two spent weeks following the sun and searching for that perfect wave. Brown succeeded in being an iconic representation of surf culture by taking a relaxed approach to filmmaking and focusing on the sport through honest filmography.

To complement the documentary, the Sandals burned into the psyche of surf music with their soundtrack instrumentals that were not intentionally designed to be soundtrack music.

The Endless Summer Film Trailer

In the early 1960s, the San Clemente, California surf town gave birth to the Sandals, who were originally called The Sandells. By 1964, they released Scrambler! to little mainstream attention. It had just enough spark for Brown to notice and befriend the band. At the time, Brown had churned out five surf-oriented movies, all equally underappreciated at the time. One day, The Sandells played him songs from Scrambler! with the hope of getting a song in the film. He ended up using much of Scrambler! Including the influential “Theme From Endless Summer,” recorded two years before the film.

In 1966, they renamed Scrambler! to The Endless Summer incorporating the aural identity with the pop culture icon. This decision nestled The Sandals’s fate into legendary status in surf music history.

The Sandals also released a soundtrack to the film The Last of the Ski Bums to end the decade. It was not until 1992 when they re-recorded The Endless Summer with some additional tracks.

Real Gone’s reissue not only serves as a historical reminder but the vinyl is the first-ever domestic reissue. The Sandals will forever be known as the band who set the “tone” to the success of The Endless Summer.