Ask American Profile

Kenny Chesney, Madylin Sweeten, Bob Seger

I love listening to Kenny Chesney. I would like to hear more about him.
—Angela B., North Carolina

Kenny Chesney had a big year in 2002 with a No. 1 hit single The Good Stuff, not to mention a headlining tour that grossed $24 million, and No. 1 album, No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems. The Luttrell, Tenn., native is on tour again, this time with Kellie Coffey and Montgomery Gentry. Chesney’s current single is Big Star. The former high school football player credits his connection with his fans to the fact that he grew up in a small town, where he skinny-dipped, fished, and got his heart broken by a high school sweetheart. “I’ve lived like a lot of guys listening to my music live. And I think that’s why people buy my records, because they can relate to the guy singing those songs. They feel like the songs are about their lives, because they’re about my life—and I’m not all that different from them, even now,” he says. Chesney got his start playing five nights a week for tips at Chucky’s in Johnson City, Tenn., while he was a student at East Tennessee State University.

Are Madylin Sweeten of Everybody Loves Raymond and Jody Sweetin from Full House sisters? Are the twins Michael and Geoffrey from Everybody Loves Raymond their brothers?
—D.J., Wyoming

The young girl who plays Ally Barone on the popular sitcom is not related to Jody from Full House. She is, however, the real-life big sister to twins Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten, who play her twin brothers on Raymond. All three of the Sweeten kids, who were born in Brownwood, Texas (pop. 19,256), have been on the show since the second episode. Interestingly, the first episode featured a different trio of siblings—older sister and twin younger brothers. The twin boys were originally called Michael and Gregory Barone, but Gregory was renamed Geoffrey by the second episode. Eleven-year-old Madylin started acting when she was just 4, starring in a movie called A Promise to Carolyn. Sawyer and Sullivan started on Everybody Loves Raymond as babies and have grown up on the show—they are now 7 years old. “It’s really fun having my brothers on the show with me,” Madylin said recently, “because it makes me feel like we’re one big family.”

What has Bob Seger been doing? I haven’t heard anything from him in some time.
—Brad A., New Hampshire

The rocker, best known for hits such as Old Time Rock & Roll and Like a Rock, has been making headlines as an amateur sailor. The Michigan native won the Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island sailboat race on Lake Huron the last two summers. He skippered Lightning, a 52-foot sailboat with a 10-person crew. Other than sailing, Seger has been tweaking a new record and spending time with his family, a spokeswoman for Capitol Records says. Seger, 57, hasn’t made many entertainment industry headlines since his 1996 tour for the album It’s a Mystery. One of the most prolific and popular rock ‘n’ rollers in history, Seger hit No. 1 on the Billboard Catalog Charts last year with his 1994 Greatest Hits album, which Capitol says has certified sales of 6 million, or six times platinum. He has two children: Cole, 9, and Samantha, 7.

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