CHART BEAT

'BOOTS' ARE READY AGAIN: If you've been trying to think of a suitable present for Jessica Simpson's 25th birthday on July 10, we've already come up with the ideal gift: the highest Billboard Hot 100 debut of her career.

The No. 33 bow of Simpson's remake of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (Columbia) is miles ahead of her previous best, the No. 59 opening of a cover of Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" in April 2004.

"Boots," from the soundtrack to "The Dukes of Hazzard" film, is Simpson's first chart entry since "Breath" peaked at No. 20 the week of May 22, 2004. "Boots" is the seventh single by Simpson to appear on the Hot 100. Her run of hits began the week of Oct. 16, 1999 with "I Wanna Love You Forever." That initial hit is Simpson's only top 10 single to date.

This is the third chart run for "Boots," the only one of Sinatra's 21 chart entries to return to the Hot 100 courtesy of another artist. In 1989, Canada's Kon Kan followed its No. 15 hit "I Beg Your Pardon" with "Puss N' Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walkin')," which went to No. 58.

If Simpson's "Boots" can walk all the way to No. 1, it will be her first song to top the Hot 100. "Boots" would become the 10th song of the rock era to be No. 1 twice, by different artists. The first nine:

"Go Away Little Girl" (Steve Lawrence/Donny Osmond)
"The Loco-Motion" (Little Eva/Grand Funk)
"Please Mr. Postman" (The Marvelettes/Carpenters)
"Venus" (Shocking Blue/Bananarama)
"Lean on Me" (Bill Withers/Club Noveau)
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" (The Supremes/Kim Wilde)
"When a Man Loves a Woman" (Percy Sledge/Michael Bolton)
"I'll Be There" (Jackson 5/Mariah Carey)
"Lady Marmalade" (LaBelle/Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya & Pink)

'SEPTEMBER' SONG: A 14-10 move on Billboard's Modern Rock chart for "Wake Me Up When September Ends" (Reprise) creates some new chart history for Green Day. The trio is the first act in the history of this airplay survey to collect four top 10 tracks from two different albums.

Before "September," the "American Idiot" CD yielded the title track, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Holiday," all of which peaked at No. 1. In 1994, Green Day had five top 10 hits from the "Dookie" set.

Green Day has had 21 modern chart entries to date; "September" is the 16th to reach the top 10.

RUNNING HOT AND COLDPLAY: The No. 1 debut of George Strait's "Somewhere Down in Texas" (MCA) on The Billboard 200 knocks Coldplay out of the top berth. "X&Y" (Capitol) falls 1-3 after a three-week run in pole position. That inspired "Chart Beat" reader Larry Cohen of Trumbull, Conn., to note that "X&Y" had the longest run at No. 1 for a non-domestic act since December 2002-January 2003, when Canadian singer Shania Twain had a five-week reign with "Up!"

Just counting British acts, Coldplay had the longest stay at No. 1 since the Beatles ruled for seven weeks at the end of 2000 and beginning of 2001 with "1."

NOT BREAKING AWAY: Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" (Walt Disney/Hollywood) reaches another milestone on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, as it refuses to move from the No. 1 spot. The song from the soundtrack to "The Princess Diaries 2" leads the list for the 19th week, tying Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" as the second-longest running AC No. 1 by a solo female artist.

Only Dion's "A New Day Has Come," at 21 weeks, has had a longer visit at the summit.

If "Breakaway" can maintain its No. 1 status, it has the potential to become the longest-running No. 1 AC of all time. At the moment it is tied with Dion's "Because You Loved Me" for third place. "A New Day Has Come" is runner-up to "Drift Away" by Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray, with a way-out-in front 28 weeks on top.