by Marshall Terrill

Note: This article was originally published in March 2008 on Daytrippin’s website.

[All photos copyright by Nancy Andrews]

It’s been said that rock ‘n’ roll was a boys-only club in the 1960s and 1970s.  Among the few women who gained entry was a high-spirited, half-Sicilian and half-Cherokee beauty named Nancy Lee Andrews.

A top Eileen Ford model, Andrews was the perfect complement to former Beatle Ringo Starr.  Her six-year relationship (1974-1980) and engagement with the world’s famous drummer granted her an all access pass to a world beyond the velvet rope.

Part of that access included intimate and candid photographs of Ringo Starr’s life in the seventies.  Andrews started her career on the other side of the lens in 1970 when renowned photographer Milton Greene recognized her need to click the shutter.

Encouraged by Starr, Andrews began shooting fashion for designer boutiques along Rodeo Drive and trendy Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Later she shot Starr’s publicity photos and two of his album covers, Ringo the 4^th and Bad Boy.  During this time, she also snapped legendary artists George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Band, Keith Moon, Donovan, Harry Nilsson, Leon Russell, Dolly Parton and Carly Simon.

Her pictures and memories are preserved for posterity in the new photo book, A Dose of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Dalton Watson Fine Books). Andrews is also about to embark on a worldwide photo exhibit, showcasing her life at the peak of pop culture.