Jerry Lott

Jerry "Marty" Lott (January 30, 1938 – September 4, 1983), marketed as The Phantom, was an American singer-songwriter best known for the rockabilly composition "Love Me" recorded in 1958 and released on Dot Records in 1960. Though commercially unsuccessful upon release, Love Me has since been recognized as one of the most distinctive recordings of its era.

Dregni et al (2011) have referred to Lott retroactively as "The Lone Rane Ranger of Rockabilly" and "The Kiss of Hillbilly Bop" His identity uncertain until the 1970s, contemporaries simply referred to the enigmatic "man behind the mask" as The Phantom, inspired by comic strip character, a persona and marketing epithet reportedly conceived in collaboration with Pat Boone, who facilitated the release of Lott's single.

Musical career Early influences and recording Following his discharge from the Navy in December 1957, Lott was significantly influenced by the emergence of Elvis Presley, later recalling in a 1980 interview that Presley "turned his head around" and redirected him from country music toward a wilder rock and roll style.

In June 1958, Lott rented studio time entered Gulf Coast Studios in Mobile, Alabama, on rented studio time, and produced two original compositions: "Love Me" and "Whisper Your Love." The musicians on the session were Frank Holmes on electric guitar, Pete McCord on electric bass, Bill Yates on piano, and H.H. Brooks on drums. Lott later recalled the chaotic session: "It was wild. The drummer lost one of his sticks, the piano player screamed and knocked his stool over, the guitar player's glasses were hanging sideways over his eyes." According to Lott's own account, "Love Me" was written in approximately ten minutes.

Pat Boone and Dot Records Following the recording session, Lott traveled to Los Angeles seeking a record deal. There, known at this time by the nickname "The Gulf Coast Fireball," he located Pat Boone at a church and persuaded him to listen to the master tape. Boone initially intended to release the single on his own record label, Cooga Mooga, but ultimately arranged for Lott to sign with road manager Johnny Blackburn, and sign with Dot Records. The accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, ending his performing career.

Lott died on September 4, 1983, in Vernal, Mississippi, at the age of 45. He is buried at Scotland Cemetery, Leakesville, Greene County, Mississippi, under the name Marty Lott, with the epitaph "He's free – as the wind blows."

Legacy Although "Love Me" failed commercially upon its 1960 release, it attracted significant attention during the rockabilly revival of the early 1980s. The British rockabilly band, The Blue Cats, recorded one of the earliest cover versions of "Love Me" on their 1981 album Fight Back. According to Pat Boone, Lott contacted him during this period to discuss publishing royalties arising from a contemporary cover of "Love Me" by a British rockabilly act; Boone identified this act as The Stray Cats, though no recording of "Love Me" by The Stray Cats has been documented in their released discography, and The Blue Cats' 1981 version remains the only confirmed British cover from that period. The Cramps covered "Love Me" on their 1984 compilation Bad Music for Bad People, introducing Lott's recording to the post-punk and psychobilly underground.