"Doolittle" was released in the United Kingdom on April 17, 1989, and in the United States the following day. Throughout the States, helped by Elektra Records' major label status, retail displays were constructed for the record, and "Monkey Gone to Heaven", the first single from the album, was released to radio stations for inclusion on playlists. "Doolittle"s chart performance in the United States was unremarkable; the album entered the "Billboard" 200 at number 171. However, with the help of college radio play of "Monkey Gone to Heaven", "Doolittle" eventually rose to number 98 and spent two weeks in the Top 100. In Britain, the record reached number eight on the UK Album Chart. This chart placing was an unexpected success for the band as their previous two records, "Come On Pilgrim" and "Surfer Rosa", had failed to reach as high on the British charts.