Pop Album Chart : Grammy Gravy Flavors Clapton Sales

Some music industry insiders call it Grammy gravy. That’s the extra sales resulting from winning major Grammys, which this year naturally helped big winner Eric Clapton. His “Unplugged” album surged from No. 5 to the top, bumping off “The Bodyguard,” which had reigned for 13 weeks. The Top 10 has three newcomers: Naughty by Nature, Van Halen and Duran Duran. The others may stay up there but Van Halen’s “Live” probably won’t, both because it’s a live album--traditionally not big sellers--and because it’s mainstream hard rock, which isn’t selling well these days. Consider Poison and Mick Jagger: Jagger’s “Wandering Spirit” has been wandering down the chart--to No. 33--since its debut three weeks ago at No. 11; Poison’s “Native Tongue” plunged to No. 36 after opening at No. 16.

* Grammy winner k.d. lang got some of that gravy too. Her “Ingenue” jumped from No. 56 to No. 18--pretty good for a year-old album.

Pop Album Chart

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Last Weeks on the Week Ago Chart 1. “Unplugged,” Eric Clapton 5 4 27 2. “The Bodyguard,” soundtrack 1 1 15 3. “19 Naughty III,” Naughty by Nature 1 4. “Breathless,” Kenny G 2 2 15 5. “Live: Right Here, Right Now,” Van Halen 6. “Some Gave All,” Billy Ray Cyrus 4 5 41 7. “Duran Duran,” Duran Duran 1 8. “The Chronic,” Dr. Dre 3 3 11 9. “3 Years 5 Months ...,” Arrested Development 11 18 48 10. “Pocket Full of Kryptonite,” Spin Doctors 6 7 37 * “Ingenue,” k.d. lang 56 62 50

Source: Billboard/Soundscan