MACCA’S MECCA

Thanks to a massive marketing and promotion campaign waged by Starbucks’ Hear Music label and Concord Music Group, Paul McCartney’s Memory Almost Full edges Jive/ZLG’s R&B star T-Pain for the top spot on this week’s HITS chart. The difference was less than 250 units, making for one of the closest races in history, with a total of 166,440 to the latter’s 166,203.

Credit the savvy of Concord’s Gene Rumsey and sales chief Mike Gillespie for making sure the bases were covered at conventional retail as well.

Macca and T-Pain are two of a total of six newcomers to the Top 10, including Def Jam/IDJ’s Rihanna, WB Nashville’s country stars Big & Rich (#6) and Interscope’s Daddy Yankee (#8) and Marilyn Manson (#9).

Holdovers include last week’s chart-topper, Jive/ZLG’s R. Kelly (#4), A&M/Octone’s Maroon 5 (#5), WB’s Linkin Park (#7) and Universal Republic’s surging Amy Winehouse (#10), riding the momentum of her Rolling Stone and Spin cover stories, her top-selling album at iTunes and #1 at TRL for “Rehab.”

A&M/UMe’s Police greatest hits collection lands just outside the Top 10 at #11, fueled by the band’s current sold-out tour.

Among the other chart newcomers are Suretone/Interscope’s Chris Cornell (#17), Columbia’s Bruce Springsteen Live in Dublin (#20), the Roadrunner debut of Dream Theater (#23), Bungalo’s Carl Thomas (#24), Capitol’s Poison (#36), Side One Dummy’s Warped Tour 2007 (#390) and Asylum’s Lil Wyte (#49).

Winehouse is the week’s biggest gainer at +28%, followed by LaFace/ZLG’s revitalized Pink (#42, +18%), Big Machine’s Taylor Swift (#19, +10%) and Walt Disney’s Hannah Montana soundtrack (#38, +9%).

Next week, look for charting releases from Showdog Nashville/UMGD’s Toby Keith, Def Jam rapper Fabolous, Atlantic’s Gerald & Eddie Levert, as well as Interscope’s Enrique Iglesias and Queens of the Stone Age.