POP LP CHART : Midler’s No. 1 Hopes Cannibalized

Fine Young Cannibal’s “The Raw and the Cooked” successfully beat the “Beaches” sound track--featuring Bette Midler--for another week. The Cannibals are No. 1 for the third week in a row on the Billboard pop album chart. But “Beaches” may still be strong enough to reach the top, even though Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” slipped to No. 2 on the pop singles chart. The new No. 1 pop single is “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)” by New Kids on the Block. Kingdom Come’s “In Your Face” (No. 60) has fallen flat on its face. The sequel to the million-selling debut album by this Zeppelin-sound-alike outfit peaked at No. 49--shortly after its release--and is already slipping down the chart.

* The Doobie Bros. comeback, which they pulled off without ace singer/composer Michael McDonald, is off to a great start, jumping from No. 109 to No. 26.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. “The Raw and the Cooked” 1 1 15 Fine Young Cannibals (I.R.S/MCA) 2. “Beaches” 2 3 22 Sound track (Atlantic) 3. “Like a Prayer” 3 2 11 Madonna (Sire/Warner Bros.) 4. “Don’t Be Cruel” 4 5 48 Bobby Brown (MCA) 5. “Forever Your Girl” 6 6 48 Paula Abdul (Virgin) * “Cycles” 109 ... 2 Doobie Bros. (Capitol)