Remember that it was not The Beach boys that were first with such a compilation on Capitol, but that capitol had already used the formula with the release of the red and blue beatles comps in 1973, 1962-1966 and 1966-1970.
Yorick, but maybe The Beach Boys DID PREDATE The Beatles with compilations - with The Beach Boys Greatest Hits Vol. 1, 2, and 3. They weren't double albums, but they were released before any Beatles comps.
The effects weren't the same as Endless Summer, though. The Beach Boys Greatest Hits Vol. 1,2, and 3 didn't resurrect the groups' career or anything, just cashed in on some of the groups' earlier success. At that time, The Beach Boys were actually trying to disassociate themselves from their earlier image as a "surfing group".