Joan Baez back on chart after 29 years

Joan Baez speaks during a news conference at the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux July 6, 2008.

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - It's been 29 years since Joan Baez last appeared on the U.S. pop album chart, but her long hiatus ended this week when the folk singer's first album in five years debuted at No. 128.

"Day After Tomorrow" (Razor & Tie Entertainment) is the 26th Baez album to chart on the Billboard 200, and is her first since "Honest Lullaby" went to No. 113 in the summer of 1979.

Baez's highest-charting set to date is "Joan Baez in Concert, Part 2," which peaked at No. 7 in 1964.

She first appeared on the chart in November 1961 with "Joan Baez, Vol. 2," giving her a chart span of almost 47 years. And if you're wondering why she made her debut with an album that had "Vol. 2" in the title, her earlier "Joan Baez" album was released first, but charted after "Vol. 2."

Baez is not the only Joan to have a new entry this week. Joan Osborne's "Little Wild One" opened at No. 193. This is the fourth entry for Osborne on the Billboard 200. Her 1995 major-label debut "Relish" peaked at No. 9. "Righteous Love" went to No. 90 in 2000 and "Breakfast in Bed" stopped at No. 160 last year.

Reuters/Billboard