By KAREN SHADE World Scene Writer
Published: 11/5/2009  2:21 AM
Last Modified: 11/5/2009  3:33 AM

One flip through Nancy Lee Andrews' "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" tells you that she has led an extraordinary life.

Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr sleeping on a park bench in London; Leon Russell relaxing backstage after a concert in 1971; Angelina Jolie as a toddler playing in a pool at Starr's Los Angeles home — which was Andrews' home, too.

An international Ford model in the 1960s and 1970s, Andrews picked up the camera and saw a world that few people knew existed beyond the stage lights.

"The years went by very quickly being with Ringo," Andrews said in a phone interview from Nashville, Tenn., her home since the 1990s. "It was quite a lifestyle, but at the same time, we tried to keep it as normal as possible, especially with the children and home."

Starr's is the most photographed face in "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll," Andrews' collection of photos shot mostly in the 1970s.

Not all the photos were taken in that decade, and a few are credited to other artists, including a photo of Eric Clapton walking from Stonehenge in 1970. The photographer was the late Carl Radle — a Tulsa musician, Andrews' first love and her introduction into the world of mad dogs, Englishmen and a rock 'n' roll world climbing out of the haze of the '60s.

"There was no way that I wanted to do a tell-all book, which could be pretty saucy," she said.

Andrews will exhibit several important works from her collection at M.A. Doran Gallery, 3509 S. Peoria Ave. The exhibit will run concurrent  with

an exhibit by Tulsa artist Kreg Kallenberger of his new glass sculpture pieces. Both shows run through Nov. 26.

Andrews was no stranger to the camera, having been photographed for international fashion magazines by the likes of Richard Avedon, Bert Stern and James Houghton.

It was Milton Greene — famous for his iconic images of Marilyn Monroe — who noticed Andrews' curiosity about the camera. He had taken a centerfold photo of her that appeared in Life magazine's October 1969 issue.

"I wa so interested in what was going on," she said, "what the photographers were doing, the process of setting it up and getting the picture and capturing the moment. Once I got a camera in my hand, the passion really started."

When she met Radle, she said, she knew her days as a model were over. When he wasn't touring with Russell, they lived together in Tulsa. She credits Radle with helping her go even further in photography.

Andrews met Starr on the road and spent six years with him. Her photos catch him in poses for album covers, in quieter times, and in moments in which he was being himself and not the icon he was becoming.

The collection, published last year by Dalton Watson Fine Books, includes friends she made in those years that still seem extraordinary to her. Andrews and Starr parted ways in 1980 when he met Barbara Bach on the set of "Caveman."

"Photographers look at their photos as part of their DNA," Andrews said. "They look at themselves as timekeepers. Well, I look at myself as like a timekeeper. There was no way, even in my angriest moments. I just tucked them away. I knew they also were part of my life."

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