{{Short description|American rockabilly musician (1938–1983)}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Jerry Lott | alias = Marty Lott; The Phantom | birth_name = Jerry Lott | birth_date = {{birth date|1938|1|30}} | birth_place = Prichard, Alabama, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1983|9|4|1938|1|30}} | death_place = Vernal, Mississippi, U.S. | genre = Rockabilly, country music | instrument = Vocals, guitar | years_active = 1956–1966 | label = Dot Records }}
'''Jerry Lott''' (January 30, 1938 – September 4, 1983) was an American musician and songwriter credited by the nickname '''Marty Lott''' and identified with the stage name and persona of '''The Phantom'''.<ref name="Toppermost">Stephens, Dave (April 17, 2019). ["The Phantom"](https://www.toppermost.co.uk/the-phantom/). ''Toppermost''.</ref> He is best known for recording the rockabilly single "Love Me" and "Whisper Your Love" in 1958, released by Dot Records in January 1960. Though commercially unsuccessful upon release, "Love Me" has since been recognized as one of the most distinctive recordings of the rockabilly era, influencing artists including The Cramps and earning the admiration of Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant, who has cited it as his favorite song of all time.<ref name="Komorowski">Komorowski, Adam. Comment on "Whisper Your Love" by The Phantom. YouTube. Posted approximately 2012–2013. States: "There was an article on him in Mean Mountain Music in 1977 by Skip Rose & Jim Barkey which was updated by Derek Glenister (who interviewed Jerry) in New Kommotion no 24." Also references Robert Plant citation.</ref>
== Early life == Jerry Lott was born on January 30, 1938, in Prichard, Alabama, the son of Bill and Bertha (McLeod) Lott. The family relocated to Leakesville, Mississippi, in Greene County, where the McLeod family had been among the founding settlers since approximately 1860.<ref>Greene County, Mississippi historical records. McLeod family documented as founding settlers of Scotland (Vernal) community, operating ferry service between Leakesville and Vernal from approximately 1860.</ref> He grew up in Leakesville and began performing country music at local venues as a teenager, including an early appearance at Paynas Furniture Store in Lucedale, Mississippi.<ref name="Seven45rpm">["Jerry 'The Phantom' Lott – 'Love Me'"](https://seven45rpm.com/2015/06/17/jerry-lott-the-phantom-love-me/). ''Seven45RPM''. June 17, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2025.</ref> Lott served in the United States Navy from April 19, 1956, and was discharged on December 3, 1957, as confirmed by the Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem database.<ref name="V.A. Beneficiary ID Records Database 1850 - 2020">{{cite web |website=www.va.gov/ |url=www.va.gov/ |publisher=U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File |access-date=7 May 2026}}</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=May 2026}}
== Musical career ==
=== Early influences and recording === In 1956, Lott attended a performance by Elvis Presley when the Louisiana Hayride came to the area, an experience he later described as transformative.<ref name="Seven45rpm"/> He subsequently began performing under the forename "Marty," which he used consistently throughout his performing career.<ref name="Toppermost"/> In June 1958, Lott entered Gulf Coast Studios in Mobile, Alabama, accompanied by his manager Johnny Blackburn, who rented the studio time. The session 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.<ref name="Komorowski"/><ref name="AlabamaMusic">Alabama Music Office. "Lott, Jerry (aka The Phantom)." Alabamamusicoffice.com (page since removed; content confirmed via Google cache). Confirms master number MB 14019, Dot catalog number 16056, and session personnel.</ref> Of the recording session, Lott later recalled: "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."<ref name="Glenister">Glenister, Derek. Interview with Jerry Lott. ''New Kommotion'' No. 24, 1980. As reported by derivative sources. Original publication not digitized. First reported in: Rose, Skip; Barkey, Jim. ''Mean Mountain Music'', 1977. Mean Mountain Music, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.</ref>
=== Pat Boone and Dot Records === Following the recording session, Lott traveled to Los Angeles to seek a record deal. He located pop singer Pat Boone at a church and persuaded him to listen to the master tape. Boone subsequently facilitated a release through Dot Records.<ref name="Toppermost"/> Prior to Boone's involvement, Lott had adopted the stage name **The Phantom**, reportedly at Boone's suggestion, after the Lee Falk comic strip character.<ref name="Seven45rpm"/> Lott signed a contract with Boone's management and, according to his own account, never met anyone at Dot Records directly.<ref name="AlabamaMusic"/> The single — "Love Me" backed with "Whisper Your Love" — was issued on Dot Records catalog number 16056 (master MB 14019) in January 1960.<ref name="Seven45rpm"/><ref name="AlabamaMusic"/> Despite its extraordinary sonic character, the single failed to chart commercially. Dot Records dropped Lott shortly thereafter.
== Post-release activity == Following the single's commercial failure, Lott continued performing on the regional circuit spanning the Gulf Coast region, greater Mobile area, and the Piedmont areas of South Carolina, as well as Nashville. On or around July 22, 1966, Lott sustained severe injuries in an automobile accident while residing in Glendale, Spartanburg County, South Carolina. He was treated at Greenville General Hospital, Greenville, South Carolina, where he was reported in poor condition with a neck injury from July 23 through at least July 25, 1966.<ref name="GreenvilleNews"/> The accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, ending his performing career.<ref name="Toppermost"/> Following the accident, Lott returned to Greene County, Mississippi, where he lived in the Vernal community until his death. He continued to write songs but never recorded again.<ref name="Toppermost"/> At the time of his 1966 injury he was residing in Glendale, Spartanburg County, South Carolina.<ref name="GreenvilleNews">"Work Mishaps Hospitalize 2." ''The Greenville News'' (Greenville, South Carolina), July 23, 1966, p. 8; continued July 24, 1966, p. 2; July 25, 1966, p. 6. Hospital conditions reports confirm: "Remaining in poor condition with a neck injury was Jerry Lott, 28, of Glendale." Greenville General Hospital. Newspapers.com image IDs: 188997718, 188997830, 188998223. Downloaded May 9, 2026.</ref> The earliest known article specifically about Lott was published in 1977 in *Mean Mountain Music*, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based rock and roots publication and record label operated by Mike Muskovitz, authored by Skip Rose and Jim Barkey. This article was subsequently updated by Derek Glenister, who interviewed Lott directly, for publication in *New Kommotion* No. 24 in 1980.<ref name="Komorowski"/>
=== Personal life === Lott married Billie Faye Starling on November 8, 1958, in George County, Mississippi. Billie Faye Starling subsequently remarried, becoming Billie Faye Brazil. She died on February 11, 1973, in a two-car accident on U.S. Highway 45, two miles west of Tupelo, Mississippi, alongside her two eight-year-old children, Curtis and Shelia Marie Brazil, all of Belden, Mississippi.<ref name="APclipping">Associated Press. "Eleven Die in Accidents." Undated wire report, February 1973. States: "Killed in the accident two miles west of Tupelo on U.S. 45 were Billie Brazil, 33, and Curtis and Shelia Marie Brazil, both eight, all of Belden." Clipping attached to Billie Faye Brazil's Find a Grave memorial page (Memorial #25001943), added January 10, 2026.</ref> Lott died on September 4, 1983, in Vernal, Mississippi, at the age of 45.<ref name="DennyDavis">Davis, Denny. ["Musician Birthdays"](https://www.dennydavis.net/poemfiles/birthdays/jan.htm). ''A Whole Lotta Rock 'n' Roll and Country''. Retrieved May 1, 2026. Lists death date as September 4, 1983, in Vernal, Mississippi.</ref> He is buried at Scotland Cemetery, Leakesville, Greene County, Mississippi, under the name Marty Lott, with the inscription "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. Miriam Linna, co-founder of Norton Records, wrote enthusiastically about the recording in *Kicks* Magazine No. 3 (1984).<ref name="VanDeBeek">van de Beek, Jeroen (October 2, 2014). ["A Primal Cry For Attention"](https://popunie.nl/column-jeroen-van-de-beek-oerschreeuw-om-aandacht/). ''Popunie'' (in Dutch). Quotes Linna's 1984 ''Kicks'' Magazine review.</ref> 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.<ref name="Toppermost"/> The Bananamen, a side project of British rockabilly band The Sting-rays, also recorded a version.<ref name="Toppermost"/> Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin has cited "Love Me" as his favorite song of all time.<ref name="Komorowski"/> "Love Me" was used in a Southern Comfort television advertisement in 2014.<ref>["September Spiel for Southern Comfort ad"](https://waybackattack.com/wayback2014-03.html). ''Way Back Attack''. Retrieved April 29, 2026.</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== See also == * Dwight Pullen * Ronnie Self * Gene Maltais * Allen Page * Bill Allan
== External links == *[https://www.interment.net/data/us/ms/greene/scotland/index.htm Scotland Cemetery, Leakesville, Greene County, Mississippi] *{{discogs label|459367-Mean-Mountain-Music}}
Category:1938 births Category:1983 deaths Category:People from Prichard, Alabama Category:People from Leakesville, Mississippi Category:American rockabilly musicians Category:American country singers Category:Dot Records artists Category:United States Navy personnel Category:Musicians from Alabama Category:Musicians from Mississippi Category:People from Greene County, Mississippi