RICHMOND, Va. — May Pang took some of the most candid and fascinating pictures in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.
But Pang never trained to be a photographer, and she never really intended for many people to see her singular snapshots of one of music's biggest stars.
"My first boyfriend, this guy named John Lennon, some people may know him," Pang said in an interview with Catie Beck on the most recent episode of "Untold - A WTVR Podcast."
Pang's traveling exhibit, "The Lost Weekend: The Photography of May Pang," made a stop in Richmond this week.
Pang was the lover and creative partner of Beatles' founder John Lennon during his storied "Lost Weekend" period, which was about a year and a half in the 1970s when he was separated from Yoko Ono and living in California.
It is also the subject of a recent documentary.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Lennon during that time, Pang said, was that he was constantly drinking and depressed.
"He wasn't what everybody wanted to write, and it's better for other people to think that he was down-and-out," said Pang. "In reality, he wasn't. His whole life was open."
The pictures Pang took of the former Beatle over the course of their relationship are some of Lennon's most personal, often showing him in a lighthearted and happy mood.
"That's what the photos are about, that's my collection," said Pang. "When people come in and they say, 'He doesn't look that like that broody guy that you see in all these other photos.' You see him very relaxed because he's not posing for me. You know, he's just, he's being himself."
The collection includes shots of Lennon with his son, Julian, and the only picture of Lennon signing the document that officially dissolved The Beatles.
Pang also took what might be the last ever photo of Lennon with Beatles co-founder and his songwriting Paul McCartney.
She was with Lennon in a recording studio the night the two men saw each other for the first time in years.
"It was the very first recording night of Pussycats, which is Harry Nilsson's album that John was producing," said Pang. "And all of a sudden, as we listened to playback, I'm facing John, I look at the door, and it opens up, and I see Paul and Linda walk into this control room. And I went, 'Paul, Linda.' And John's looking at me, going, 'What?' And he looks over and he says, 'Oh, hey.'"
What followed was a late-night jam session that has become legendary, featuring not only John and Paul, but Stevie Wonder on keyboards.
Pang played the tambourine.
In the weeks and months that followed, Pang said John and Paul would regularly see each other, and she would be introduced to other rock royalty as well.
"McCartney was coming by, [Mick] Jagger was coming by, we were also friends with David Bowie and Elton John," said Pang. "And they were all there. Paul and Linda were always at our home."
Now, more than 50 years later, Pang said she has finally become comfortable sharing her memories and snapshots of that time, though sometimes it feels like it was just a dream.
"It was a time period that I still can't get over understanding that it really is me in some of the photos, you know," said Pang. "That we had a life together, that I was with one of the most famous men of the 20th century."
"Was that really me?"
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