TMS Muse of the Week: May Pang

(News Corp)

If you’re a casual Beatles fan or only fleetingly aware of the legendary pop-rock band, you might assume the woman in the above image next to John Lennon is Japanese artist Yoko Ono. But in actuality, it’s Chinese-American secretary-turned-label executive May Pang. Most music fans have heard of the supposed ‘Yoko factor,’ where it’s assumed John & Yoko’s intense attachment to each other instigated the Beatles breaking up in 1969; and ultimately for good. While the band’s demise is a bit more complicated than just Yoko hanging around the studio too much, there’s one thing for sure. If you know of John, you know of Yoko. The wife and mother of the iconic musician’s second son [Sean, b. 1975]; Yoko is still with us and the main person publicly keeping the late rockstar’s legacy alive next to Sean and John’s first son [Julian, b. 1962] via ex-wife Cynthia Powell. At first glance, one might assume John and Yoko were soulmates and destined to be together. Surely they must have been true love. Well, there’s actually a lot more to the history.

You might be wondering, who is May and how does she fit into this story? It begins back in mid-1973. John abandoned his native England for NYC nearly a year earlier and was still recouping from his first flop with the 1972 LP ‘Sometime in New York City,’ while May was working as Yoko’s assistant. During the recording of John’s fourth solo album ‘Mind Games’ in the summer of ’73, Yoko one day revealed to May that she and John were considering going on a marital break, and she thought May might be a compatible, future partner for the latter. Naturally, the young woman was caught off guard, but soon discovered there was a mutual attraction between her and the Brit once the couple were separated. Reading about the roots of this love affair back when I was a teen, I remember thinking, “Huh, kind of a weird way to start seeing someone.” But now as a grown adult, I’m more like, “Umm, that’s a major workplace violation.” Which May herself has retrospectively admitted as much in various, modern interviews. What was originally assumed by Yoko to be a brief two-to-three month separation, turned out to be a whole year and a half of John & May living together in Los Angeles, CA for what is now referred to as the legend’s ‘Lost Weekend.’

(May Pang)

Everyone thinks of John Lennon as the singer-songwriter and hippie activist of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which he very much was. But for an extended time, he was quite the party animal as an unofficial member of the celeb clique known as ‘the Hollywood Vampires’ in 1973-75. John, along with pals singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, shock rocker Alice Cooper, Monkee Micky Dolenz, Keith Moon of the Who, the Turtles’ Howard Kaylan and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, gained notoriety for having all-nighters across the Sunset Strip at their favorite bars and clubs. May, as sweet as she is, was of course along for the rides, and can be seen in various photos and footage. Though she isn’t necessarily a highlight in any of the crazy and wild stories involving that crowd. It probably helped she was in her mid-20s opposite the stars in their 30s, and had the stamina and naivety to keep up with their partying. A lot has been shared regarding May and her association with John over the years, but nothing necessarily bad. In fact if anything, most close to the musician’s life have credited the former assistant for being a huge influence on getting his personal life sorted out. While together, John recorded and released two more albums—‘Walls and Bridges’ (1974) and ‘Rock & Roll’ (1975)—produced Harry’s 1974 LP ‘Pussycats,’ reconnected with Paul McCartney since disbanding as Beatles, and was spending legitimate, family time with Julian for the first time since John and Cynthia divorced. The younger Lennon has even gone as far as to say that his best childhood memories with his father are from when May was around. Although the music video suggests otherwise, the whispery, feminine voice heard on John’s song ‘No. 9 Dream’ from ‘Walls and Bridges’ is actually May.

If May’s presence was such an improvement for John, why was their union limited in the end? There are a few different narratives to this conclusion, particularly from Yoko and May, but essentially John & Yoko reconciled enough to not only get back together, but also conceive a son. May later revealed she and John actually sporadically stayed in touch until roughly 1977. Based on the stories she shared in her 1983 memoir Loving John [later retitled The Lost Weekend in 1992], it sounds like being involved with the divisive Beatle can be just as intense as it can be exciting. Over the years, May’s life continued to be interesting and successful, with stints working at ABKCO Records, Island Records and RKO Radio; designing and founding her own jewelry line; becoming an animal rights activist; and publishing a second memoir—this time a personal photobook called Instamatic Karma in 2008. A unique beauty, the New Yorker originally tried getting into modeling, but switched fields when agencies kept turning her down for being ‘too ethnic looking.’ Romantically, May married record producer Tony Visconti from 1989 to 2000, with whom she has daughter Lara [b. 1991] and son Sebastian [b. 1990]. Within time, May became friends with Julian and Cynthia, and not surprisingly, she hasn’t spoken to Yoko since the 1970s. The elusive lover’s first book was recently adapted into a documentary, also called The Lost Weekend, and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival back in June.

May isn’t on the general public’s radar like Yoko is. But she has the perfect blend of lowkey exposure as a public figure, to my mind.