SPRINGSTEEN, JACKSON TO DUKE IT OUT

If Whitney Houston can debut at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and stay there for three solid months--as she has with her second album, “Whitney”--certainly Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen should be able to do the same thing.

After all, Jackson’s last album, “Thriller,” sold more than 20 million copies in the United States, and Springsteen’s last studio release, “Born in the U.S.A.,” did a cool 10 million. Both albums rode the Top 10 for nearly two years, and both generated a record seven Top 10 singles.

But this time the Boss and the Gloved One both can’t dominate the chart the way Houston has. The reason? Their new albums are coming out almost on top of each other. Jackson’s “Bad” is due in record stores Monday, and Springsteen will weigh in with “Tunnel of Love” in early October.

Won’t the two albums crowd each other by being released so close together? Won’t one or both get hurt? Can the renowned CBS distribution machine handle both simultaneously? Wouldn’t it be better to release them six or nine months apart?

The answers, according to a spot check of key retailers: no, no, yes, and probably but you take them when you can get them.

Mitch Perliss, director of purchasing for the 48-store Music Plus chain, said it’s the kind of problem he wishes he had more often.

“I’m not sure they do compete,” he said. “I think they complement each other. They’re two different kinds of product. I don’t think people are going to buy one as opposed to the other. By coming out together, they may even sell more because they’ll get more people in the stores.

“What generally happens when you get a phenomenon like this is that people buy more records. They don’t just come in for Michael and leave, or come in for Bruce and leave. It gets them excited about music again.”

Stan Goman, senior vice president of retail operations for the Tower Records chain, said: “I don’t think those two will be hurt, because people will buy those two. What might be hurt will be some lesser artists.”

A CBS source said: “If anything, it’s an advantage. The in-store visibility on both of them will help each other. They’re like magnets.”

The only real problem is that one of the biggest superstars in the business is going to spend a lot of time at No. 2.

Not that being a perennial No. 2 is necessarily detrimental to a career. “Born in the U.S.A.” spent 21 weeks at No. 2 behind Prince’s “Purple Rain,” but wound up outselling it in this country by about 1 million units. The reason: The Springsteen album had a much longer life. “Purple Rain” had 32 weeks in the Top 10; “Born in the U.S.A.” stayed there a staggering 84 weeks.

Of the battle for No. 1, Music Plus’ Perliss said: “That’s just ego. If I can sell 15 million records, you can call me No. 2.”

Good point. But so is the observation made by a CBS record promoter: “Everybody wants No. 1. That’s just the name of the game. Everybody wants to be in first place.”