Rod Stewart on Track to Top U.S. Pop Charts

10/24/2004 10:06 PM, Reuters
Geoff Mayfield

When Rod Stewart and Clive Davis decided to inaugurate the singer's J Records deal with a collection of gems from the Great American Songbook, did you ever imagine that repertoire would become a franchise for the British rocker? Now Stewart's third such album in three years is on the verge of being his first No. 1 album in 25 years.

His "Stardust . . . The Great American Songbook Volume III" is the hottest seller among the releases that hit stores Oct. 19. First-day numbers have chart hawks predicting an opening week of at least 250,000 copies, with some close to the album thinking it could reach 275,000. Sales data will be issued Wednesday.

If he hits even the low end of those estimates, it will mark Stewart's best Nielsen SoundScan week, eclipsing the 212,000 he moved exactly one year earlier, when "As Time Goes By . . . The Great American Songbook Volume II" entered The Billboard 200 at No. 2.

In anticipation of Stewart's new duets-flavored title, his first two "American Songbook" sets sped up the charts in the week ended Oct. 17. Sales of each more than doubled: "As Time Goes By" re-entered at No. 108 on a 133% spike; "It Had to Be You . . . The Great American Songbook Volume 1" returned at No. 133 with a 117% rally.

Stewart can thank NBC for some of the action. He appeared on the Friday and Saturday editions of "Today" Oct. 15-16 and was profiled the following night on "Dateline."

The first two "American Songbook" titles carry a deep discount at Kmart, and the new one is sale-priced at most major chains, including a $9.99 tag at Best Buy and Circuit City and an $11.98 tag at Target.

Besides Stewart, at least one other act on the Oct. 19 slate is on target for a best-yet Nielsen SoundScan frame, as Jimmy Eat World is projected to start in the range of 100,000. That would make the new "Futures" the band's first top 10 album. Its self-titled album peaked at No. 31 in 2002.

Also charting next week will be hits collections from Brooks & Dunn (in the range of 85,000) and John Mellencamp (55,000-60,000).

Reuters/Billboard