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John Mayer, Lola Falana, Lynn Anderson and Bill Anderson

John Mayer is my favorite singer/songwriter, and I’ve recently heard that he has a pet chimp named Apollo. Is this true?
—Norah B., California

No. The 27-year-old songsmith and Apollo are merely professional acquaintances—they did a photo session together a few years ago for a music magazine and haven’t seen each other since. Mayer’s probably been too busy touring to take care of a high-maintenance pet like a chimpanzee anyway. A native of Fairfield, Conn. (pop. 57,340), Mayer attended Berklee School of Music, but left to focus his energies on songwriting. “The very nature of standing in front of a mic with a guitar that’s in tune, the millions of songs that could happen at that moment, I love that,” he says. He moved to Atlanta in 1998 and immediately started playing the local clubs. He quickly gathered a core group of fans and eventually released an album on his own. His talent got him noticed beyond Atlanta, and in 2000 he signed a record contract with Aware/Columbia. His first album, Room For Squares, sold 3 million copies, and he won a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for his hit, Your Body Is A Wonderland. His new album, Heavier Things, recently debuted at the top of the Billboard albums chart, thanks in part to his hit Bigger Than My Body.

I was a big fan of Lola Falana during her heyday. Can you tell me what happened to her?
—Brad B., Illinois

Falana, who became known during the 1970s for her singing and dancing in Las Vegas, has traded showbiz for a higher purpose. The change came when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1987. The disease left her partially blind and unable to walk. Lying helpless in her bed for five days, she prayed, and says she felt God’s presence sweep over her. A year and half later, she regained her health and returned to the Vegas stage, but soon decided that she had more important work to do. Falana, 60, began to travel around the country, telling her inspiring story of faith to one church or school group after another. Today, she works with Save Sub-Saharan Orphans (www.savetheorphans.org). “I have not traveled for a year and a half now (for missionary work),” she says. “As a servant of God, I write letters on behalf of Africa’s people and I do my best to assist where God leads me.”

A friend and I have a dinner bet on the relationship between country singers Lynn Anderson and Bill Anderson. I say they aren’t related, but he says they are brother and sister.
—Eulah S., Oregon

Looks like you’re getting a free dinner because country music singers Lynn Anderson, 56, and Bill Anderson, 65, aren’t related in any way. “I get asked that all the time and she does too,” Bill Anderson says. “I saw John Anderson the other night at the Opry and he gets it too. We played a place in Nevada recently where Lynn had just played and people said, ‘I saw your sister last week.’” Bill performs at the Grand Ole Opry most weekends, when he’s not on the road singing hits such as Po’ Folks, The Tips of My Fingers and Still. “I’m still a ham at heart,” he says. “I still enjoy getting up on the stage and acting crazy and having fun with the fans.” Despite his hectic schedule, he’s made a renewed commitment to his first love: songwriting. He wrote the Kenny Chesney hit A Lot of Things Different, as well as Steve Wariner’s Two Teardrops and Mark Wills’ Wish You Were Here. Lynn Anderson, best known for the 1970 hit Rose Garden, still performs regularly. In her spare time, she’s also a horsewoman who has won 16 national championships in various cutting horse competitions.

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