FILE UNDER...LATE BLOOMERS

Until recently, British musician Gordon Haskell's chief claim to fame was playing bass and singing on a couple of early King Crimson albums. After leaving Crimson, he spent the next three decades gigging in pubs, to little acclaim -- until last September. That's when he released a smoky, jazz-tinged ballad, ''How Wonderful You Are,'' to radio. U.K. listeners flipped for the tune, which soon became the most requested record in the history of BBC Radio 2. ''The response from the public was staggering,'' says Haskell. ''People would hear the record and jump out of their cars to call the radio station. There's just magic surrounding that record.'' That magic appears to be starting to work in the States: When Compass Records released ''Wonderful'' to adult contemporary radio here, Sept. 9 (the full CD, Harry's Bar, came out the next day), it became the second-most-added single after Faith Hill's ''Cry.'' ''I'm 56 years old, and I'm really enjoying this roller-coaster ride,'' says Haskell. We'll bet.