POP LP CHART : Van Halen Reigns; Pop Vets Debut Strongly

Folksy balladeer Tracy Chapman is one of the pop phenomena of the year. Her album, “Tracy Chapman,” jumped seven notches to No. 9 on the Billboard magazine pop album chart--a huge leap at this exalted level. Two rock veterans debuted impressively on the pop album chart--Steve Winwood with “Roll With It” (No. 38) and ex-Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page with “Outrider” (No. 46), his first solo album. That exclamation point in newcomer Al B. Sure!’s name indicates that he thinks he’s hot stuff. Apparently music fans agree. His album, “In Effect Mode” is a hit (No. 24) and his single, “Nite and Day,” is No. 10. Speaking of hot singles, Cheap Trick’s “The Flame” is the new No. 1 pop single, trailed by Pebbles’ “Mercedes Boy” (No. 2).

* Elton John’s “Reg Strikes Back” album made a surprisingly splashy entrance on the pop chart--No. 39. It could be John’s biggest in many years.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. “OU812” 1 1 4 Van Halen (Warner Bros.) 2. “Hysteria” 3 3 47 Def Leppard (PolyGram) 3. “Faith” 2 2 34 George Michael (Columbia) 4. “Dirty Dancing” 4 5 43 Sound track (RCA) 5. “Scenes from the Southside” 6 6 8 Bruce Hornsby and the Range (RCA) * “Reg Strikes Back” -- -- 1 Elton John (MCA)