May Pang Interview
May Pang developed a friendly rapport with both John Lennon and Yoko Ono as she
was the first person they encountered when they visited ABKCO, Apple's Management
company. Earning their trust, she was fully accepted into their fold and eventually
became John and Yoko's personal assistant within days of their arrival in December
1970.
It was the summer of 1973, and John's marriage to Yoko took a serious turn for the worse.
By Yoko's account, John was being stubborn, unfaithful, and not the man she expected him
to be. Through no fault of his own, the world had already put Lennon on a pedestal so high
that the only exit had to be down. Yoko wanted John to leave for awhile and do some
soul-searching, but divorce was not necessarily in the immediate future. A separation
would allow the two of them to reflect on their dedication and love for each other.
The eccentricities of Yoko Ono showed their true colors when she asked May to not only be
John's companion, but lover during his new journey. She fully expected John to be
unfaithful, and felt that if it were to happen, it should happen with someone who was
trusted and familiar with John's personal makeup. May was a mere 22 years old at this
time, yet she already experienced a lifetime's worth of responsibility and accountability.
After many reservations, May and John left New York and stayed in Los Angeles- together
unbeknownst to Yoko. It would be days before John called Yoko to let her know that
he was in LA with May.
The infamous "lost weekend" then began. Eighteen months of John Lennon
partying, rekindling old relationships, and spending all the time with May Pang, his
new lover and best friend.
I presented a series of questions to Ms. May Pang coincidentally and appropriately on
9/9/03. Any fan of John Lennon knows that the number "9" has always been his
magic number. May herself gives off her own magic, even though the interview was
informally done in email and not face to face.
It's the imagery she presents that I find the most fascinating. When she speaks of her
time with John, she does so proudly, but not in a tabloid-type fashion. She was just a big
a fan of his music as his fans were, but she was lucky enough to be there while classic
albums like "Mind Games", "Walls and Bridges", and "Rock And
Roll" were being recorded. She was even credited as co-producer with John on
"WAB".
JOHN'S PRODUCTIVITY IN THE STUDIO
JD- "Did John shift personalities the second he left the recording
studio? For instance, if he had a good productive day recording and was excited, did that
emotion carry him throughout the day, or did his mood shift when he wasn't working?"
MP- "John was always happiest when he was working. That's why I wonder
about those five years of retirement. He certainly came alive in the studio
and during our time together, he was quite productive. We were together for Mind
Games, Walls & Bridges, Rock 'N' Roll, Harry Nilsson's Pussycats, David Bowie's Fame,
Edgar Winter's Rock 'N' Roll People and Keith Moon's Move Over Ms. L. He also jammed
with Paul, produced a track for Mick Jagger called Too Many Cooks, and was on the
forefront of the "superstar duet" with his collaborations with Elton John.
As fans and friends often note, he seemed like the John of old when we were together; he
was outgoing, very musical, and his sense of humor was back in full force."
JD- "Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox)" was written about you.
What has never been discussed to my knowledge is at the very end of the song, he makes a
reference to "Drive My Car" when he sings in falsetto with Elton "sweet
sweet sweet sweet love her" ("beep beep beep beep yeah"). Did John address
his past with the Fabs, and was he getting a bit sentimental at the time you knew him? He
did get together with Paul in the studio, but did he ever indicate that he had made peace
with the Beatles and the bittersweet breakup of the group?"
MP- "John was reaching out and reconnecting with his family and friends.
Julian visited us regularly, and even joined John in the studio on the Walls & Bridges
sessions. Paul and Linda were frequent visitors in both Los Angeles and New York,
and we lived with Ringo out in L.A. We visited George in New York during his Dark
Horse tour, and John almost appeared on stage with George at Madison Square Garden.
The four guys were brothers. Whenever they would meet, it was like no time had gone
by. There are quite a few Beatle references on Walls & Bridges, from
"somebody please help me" in Going Down On Love to the riff in Beef Jerky, which
was based on the riff in Paul's Let Me Roll It from Band On The Run, the song Paul called
his "Lennon track." I was very moved at Surprise Surprise, and the ending
was just another fond wink to his Beatle past."
JOHN'S GUITAR PLAYING
JD- "John called himself the "invisible guitarist" of the Beatles. You once
said that John played some of the Beatle "Come Together" lead guitar lines
during rehearsals for the live show. Did you mean the slide-like solo in the middle, or
the wiry bits in the outro, or both?"
MP- "John was an excellent and much underrated guitarist. He downplayed his
own ability, but from the impossible shuffle in All My Lovin' to the finger picking in
Julia, he was incredible. If you listen to his demos, he's playing all of the riffs
that the session men eventually did on the records. He loved a "dirty"
guitar sound, and he often used his cigarette lighter for his slide work. I still
have some of John's old lighters. "
JOHN COMPOSING SONGS
JD- "Describe your experiences when John was composing. It's been reported that he
went into a trance-like state, and that he reworked songs all the time."
MP- "Well, he was very focused, but not "trance-like." John
always carried a black Flair marker with him and he would jot down conversations, lines
he'd hear on television; he'd find inspiration in virtually anything. And he'd use
them all in his songs. I remember when he woke up and played #9 Dream, which he
literally dreamed up. He would compose mostly on his Martin acoustic and would make
changes even while recording in the studio. I got him into typing, so he would type
out lyrics, and sometimes he'd make a typo, which he liked better than what he had
written, so he'd change it."
"YOU ARE HERE"
JD- "Who sings the "nine" (that's what it sounds like) at the beginning of
"You Are Here". There are two singers."
MP- "It is not two singers just John with a little delay in echo on his
voice."
"THERE ARE UFO'S OVER NEW YORK, AND I AIN'T SURPRISED"
JD- "John claimed he saw a UFO in New York. Has he ever discussed this with you, and
if so, was it a put on or something he truly experienced? Describe his thoughts, as well
as yours."
MP- "Well, we were together when he saw it. We had a penthouse
apartment on the East Side, and he was out on the rooftop when he yelled for me to come
out. And sure enough, there it was. It was fascinating. I took some
pictures, but nothing came out. John even drew a picture of the UFO on an envelope,
which I still have. It turns out that this particular sighting was registered in a
national registry of sightings, and over 300 people saw it. John would've been
pleased to know this, because he was certain that everybody would think he was more crazy
than usual. In the early 80's, I saw another one, over Central Park West. I
was with a friend who also saw it. And this, too, was documented in the
registry. So I'm not that crazy either."
JOHN'S ARTISTIC FREEDOM FROM YOKO
JD- "During John's time with you, he seemed to find the muse he'd been missing.
The 18 month Lost Weekend, though maybe lost in alcohol and drugs, was a truly a time of
resurgence for him. Do you think the freedom from Yoko's dominance was responsible for his
musical output, or was it you, or a combination of both factors?"
MP- "Of course I have my own opinion on this, but since I was there, I
couldn't be totally objective. But the fact remains that he was healthy, happy and
most productive during our time together. Yes, we did get off to a bumpy
start. But as time went on, he settled down. No excessive drinking or
drugs. Just a happy, stable productive time. If anything, his artistic
schedule was chaotic. It's understandable that he would dismiss this period as one
big drunken "lost weekend." But what else could he say? I think the
record speaks for itself, no pun intended."
DORIS DAY.... HUH?
JD- "You've mentioned before that John liked Doris Day. Do you have any
personal knowledge just what the connection was? Doris Day was a likeable American
sweetheart, who had an aura of innocence all through her career- and John mentioned her
even as far back as 1969 during "Dig It"."
MP- "John loved movie actors and singers. He grew up during a time when Doris
Day was very big and it influenced him greatly. He loved her music. During a
small project where John was co-producing Roy Cicala's wife with Roy, he asked if she
would sing a song that he remembered Doris Day had sung. The song was called ANSWER
ME and it had a definite updated production by John."
MORE THAN JUST A "LOST WEEKEND"
JD- "Paul and Ringo have come to terms that they will always be known as
"Beatles". You will always be connected with John Lennon as friend, lover, and
confidante, it would appear. Is this something you have come to terms with and does it
bother you?"
MP- "Of course it doesn't bother me. It was a very special time
in my life, and I enjoy meeting fans from all around the world. What most people
don't realize is my relationship with John lasted 10 years; it wasn't just those 18
months. I began working for him as soon as he came to New York in Dec. 1970, and we
were in touch until 1980."
HIGHEST HIGH AND LOWEST LOW
JD- "Describe the "highest-high" and the "lowest low"
during the "Lost Weekend", in reference to your relationship with John."
MP- "Of course, the lowest would be when he went back to the
Dakota. And I didn't enjoy some of the publicity, most of which was blown out of
proportion about some rowdy evenings with Harry in L.A. The high points were when he
was working, or we'd just be at home relaxing, or out on Long Island swimming, with
Julian, reconnecting with Paul and Linda, Ringo, George and lot of musicians that knew him
early on. Really, there were so many more good times than most people realized."
WORKING WITH PHIL SPECTOR
JD- "Phil Spector's behavior as producer in the studio is legendary. Many
times, he brings out the best and worst in a performer. Did he do John justice with his
production, or was he more trouble than he was worth? Also, in when all was said and done,
did John still like and respect him after his sessions with him?"
MP- "That's a loaded question. Phil was a genius and, in
theory, the idea of him producing an album of 50's classics was fantastic. But this
was during that first three months, things were still shaky and Phil isn't exactly a
stabilizing force. John ended up using only four of the tracks, which he needed to
clean up anyway. John would've loved today's digital technology. I enjoy
hearing the remixed albums; they do sound so much better. I know there are many
"purists" out there who don't like to have stuff tampered with, but the truth
is, the vinyl couldn't capture the complete sound and changed it so much from what we
heard in the studio."
WHAT MAY PANG IS DOING NOW
JD- "May, can you give me an "addendum" to your book on "The
Lost Weekend" if in fact one exists? Specifically, has anything changed in your life
addressed in the book that bears an update?"
MP- "Well, I actually did re-release Loving John in 1992, under the
title The Lost Weekend, as a paperback. Unfortunately, the publisher went into
bankruptcy as the book was going into a second printing. But a lot has happened in
that time, most notably I was married to and divorced from -- Tony Visconti and have
two wonderful children, Sebastian and Lara."
MAY'S FUTURE GOALS
JD- "Music has always been a theme in your life- describe what you
are up to these days. What are your long term goals?"
MP- "Being a single mom, I'm busy, busy, busy. But I love
it. I'm still very active in the music industry, I am a member on the Board of Women
In Music. I'm just now launching a stainless steel jewelry collection, available on
my website (www.maypang.com). John 's fans might be pleased to know that I am
currently working on another book of my photographs which will also include the
recollections of friends, fans and colleagues of our time together."
JOHN AND PAUL WRITING TOGETHER?
JD- "Do you have any regrets about anything you've done in your life,
and if so, do you have power to correct them at this time?"
MP- "I don't have any regrets about anything I've done, but I do feel
sad about all the things that never came to pass. John wanted to go to New Orleans
and write and record with Paul (during the Venus & Mars sessions) and we were getting
ready to go, but that never happened. I saw Paul and Linda in the 80's and told
them, and Paul was pleased to hear it, but I'm not sure if he thought I was just trying to
make him feel good. When I saw them again in 1990, at his annual Buddy Holly Party
in NY, he called to out to Linda, "Tell her! Tell her!" and as Linda was
explaining, Paul chimed in that he had gotten a postcard sent to Derek Taylor from John
saying he was thinking of going down to New Orleans to visit with the Macs. This
was the last thing we discussed .. to visit Paul and Linda. And as I said, John
asked me earlier that week, did I think it would be a good idea for him and Paul to write
together again. Wouldn't that have been a great gift to everyone?" |
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