The B Side – Episode 1

Michael Whitmore, head 45 collector for Amoeba Records, shares his rare vinyl collection.

The Phantom

“Love Me”
Dot Records, 1960
*Track can be purchased at the iTunes Store.

Jerry Lott, a.k.a. “The Phantom,” was born near Mobile, Alabama in 1938.  Lott played country music as a young teenager until he heard Elvis Presley and rockabilly on the radio in 1956. During the summer of 1958 in Mobile, Lott recorded Whisper Your Love.

Jerry Lott wrote Love Me in only 10 minutes.  Yeah, most great Rockabilly records from the late fifties had more then their share of fire and dementia, but this track is insane … certifiably, wickedly, aberrantly insane!  It’s a beautiful thing!

Lott left Mobile for Los Angeles to shop his master tape around, and on an impulse he followed Pat Boone to church one Sunday morning and convinced him to give the tape a listen. It was Boone’s idea to rename Lott “The Phantom,” even agreeing to issue the record on his own label, Cooga Mooga.  Eventually Lott signed a contract with Boone’s management but the single of Love Me b/w Whisper Your Love was released on the label Boone recorded for – Dot  Records in 1960 (DOT 16056).

For five decades now, plenty of neophytes have tried to recreate this completely over the edge, pedal to the metal, head bashin’, full moon howlin’ kind of wreck … but few succeed.

Unfortunately in 1966, Jerry “The Phantom” Lott sustained severe injuries when his car tumbled 600 feet down a mountainside near Spartanburg, South Carolina. As far as we know, he never recorded again.  In 1983, he passed away on September 4th, at the age of 45.

Side note: The first and alternate takes are included on the 1998 Bear Family Records’ fifth installment in their That’ll Flat Git It Series. And this summer, Rhino Records has released Rockin’ Bones: 1950s Punk and Rockabilly, which includes the first take.

Download MP3 from Amazon

One Response to “The B Side – Episode 1”

1. Ed Slotherman says:

   April 12, 2010 at 7:24 pm

   I love the feel of this series. Keep the records spinning.