Howard Stern’s ‘Parts’ Might Top the Charts

Can Howard Stern save the record business?

The self-proclaimed King of All Media is poised to push that hyperbole closer to reality with his movie autobiography “Private Parts,” opening March 7, and a soundtrack album due in stores Feb. 25.

The album comes in the midst of a crucial wave of high-profile releases, sandwiched between Live’s “Secret Samhadi” (due Feb. 18) and U2’s “Pop” (due March 4), just a couple of weeks after the Offspring’s “Ixnay on the Hombre” and Silverchair’s “Freak Show” and three weeks before Aerosmith’s “Nine Lives.”

Retailers and record executives are hoping this rush of star product will jump-start the stagnant business. And many won’t be surprised if Stern is at the front of the pack. His fierce fan base alone could push the album to No. 1 in its first week.

“Look at the way [Stern’s] books sell and his talent for promotion,” says Bob Bell, new-release buyer for the Wherehouse chain. “His fans are very dedicated and they’ll be out there on the street date to buy it.”

But the presence on the album of such acts as Marilyn Manson, LL Cool J (backed by members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers), Rob Zombie (with backing vocals by Stern), Ozzy Osbourne, Green Day and Porno for Pyros--the last with a track that is being termed a virtual Jane’s Addiction reunion--could give it some staying power.

“Right now, soundtracks are a hot genre, with ‘Romeo & Juliet,’ ‘Evita,’ ‘Space Jam’ and ‘The Preacher’s Wife’ all Top 10,” says Gary Arnold, vice president of marketing for the Best Buy stores chain, who is also looking forward to soundtrack albums from David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” (with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Green Day and others), a second volume from “Romeo & Juliet” and a collection from the documentary “When We Were Kings” (with a new Fugees-A Tribe Called Quest track).

“So you have a hot genre, a hot personality and a hot movie, and it does spell success.”

Still, can he--or any of these new albums--save the business?

“I don’t think it’s realistic to look at any one record or groups of records to turn the business around,” says Bell. “For that you need a [surprise] like Hootie or Alanis Morissette or Jewel that grows and sells for two years.”

Stan Goman, Tower Records senior vice president of sales, believes that one new act could provide a breakthrough: the Spice Girls, the English froth-pop sensation that stormed Europe last year and is now taking hold in the U.S.

“Every little kid between 7 and 10 knows who the Spice Girls are and loves them, and that’s something that’s been missing for a while,” he says. “The thing that will save the record business is wholesome stuff like this that gets kids into buying records young.”