
You’re not alone if Jim Sullivan’s name is unfamiliar to you; he was constantly on the verge of achievement. In 1969, Sullivan released his debut album, U.F.O., and in the early 1970s, he performed regularly in Malibu, California, to enthusiastic audiences. He hung around with movie stars, but he never became famous. He thought he would have better luck in Nashville, so he moved there in 1975, leaving behind his wife and son and moving to Los Angeles. However, Sullivan never made it to Tennessee; he vanished into thin air somewhere in the New Mexico desert, never to be found again. Light in the Attic Records, a tiny label, has now reissued U.F.O.
Light in the Attic’s founder, Matt Sullivan (no relation), claims to have found the record while browsing the Internet.
“I stumbled across the album on a music blog called Waxidermy, which focuses on obscure records; the album cover caught my attention,” says Sullivan. “I downloaded the album and was mesmerized immediately.”
Jim Sullivan’s voice quality, Matt Sullivan tells All Things Considered guest host Guy Raz, inspired his response.
“His voice has this kind of weathered, worldly Americana sound,” he continues. “Kind of a country-mixed-with-rock element to it. From there, the production, the strings — it’s lush, but they’re dark and eerie. I kind of look at it as pop songs that aren’t happy. They’re filled with despair.”
It’s an odd place to find Jim Sullivan in obscurity. His lack of fame wasn’t because of a weak supporting cast — Phil Spector’s studio musicians backed him on the record. Matt Sullivan claims that some entrepreneurs thought the musician was worth investing in after seeing him perform at a bar in Malibu called the Raft.
“On Day 2, Texans walk in, hear Jim’s music and love it. They realize, ‘We should make a record with this guy,'” says Matt Sullivan. “Somehow, they hired the Wrecking Crew, the band that who backed up everyone from The Beach Boys to Phil Spector back in the day.”
Legend has it that Sullivan left his family to catch a break in Nashville, but he never made it to Tennessee.
“He leaves L.A. in March 1975, and he has $120 in his pocket, so he starts driving in his little VW bug, and 15 hours later, he’s outside Santa Rosa, N..M,” says Matt Sullivan. “He checks into a local motel. Soon after, his car is found is found 26 miles from the motel, and he’s never seen or heard from ever again.”
Jim Sullivan’s cryptic lyrics on U.F.O., where he talks about traveling long distances, leaving his family behind, and being abducted by aliens in the desert, add to the mystery surrounding his disappearance.
“With or without his disappearance, there’s something in those lyrics that is incredibly mysterious and eerie,” said Matt Sullivan. “One thing that one of Jim’s friends pointed out was that the guitar was left in the car. If Jim was going to disappear, that would have been the one thing that he would have taken, because wherever he was in the world, he could always stand on a street corner and make a few bucks playing his guitar.”
Even though Jim Sullivan’s story is peculiar, Matt Sullivan expresses his hope that the singer will be most remembered for his music.
“I hope that people remember him for making a masterpiece,” he adds.
See A Video From The Record Label

The Mysterious Disappearance of Frederick Valentich: Australia’s Most Baffling Aviation Enigma
In 1978, Pilot Frederick Valentich and his plane disappeared in Australia. His last communication was “Melbourne that strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again… (two seconds open microphone)… it is hovering and it’s not an aircraft…”

The mysterious Pumpkin impaled on the top of Tower
Twenty Three years ago, somebody impaled a 60-pound pumpkin 170 off the ground on this spire at Cornell University. Nobody knows who did this or how they did it.

How Were the Two Parts of the Al Naslaa Rock Formation Created?
Scientists have been puzzled by the Al Naslaa rock formation in Saudi Arabia for a long time, and there is still no explanation for why this boulder appears to have a precise incision across the middle of it.

El Ojo, The Mysterious Rotating Island
In the middle of South America, a strange and nearly perfectly circle island moves on its own. The central landmass, known as 'El Ojo' or 'The Eye,' floats on a pond of clear and chilly water, looking strange and out of place in comparing to its surroundings. The bottom appears to be solid in compared to the marsh around it.

10 Rarest and Albino animals you haven’t seen
For centuries, people have been fascinated and enchanted by the ghostly appearances of abnormally white animals. People have loved albinos and other unusually white animals so much that they may be helping to increase their numbers, despite the difficulties these animals face in the wild. While these unusual animals did not win the genetic lottery, they have persevered in the face of adversity.

Mahabalipuram: The mystery behind Lord Krishna's butterball that defies gravity
Krishna's Butter Ball is a massive rock in Mahabalipuram, Tamilnadu, India, that is perfectly balanced on a slope. An attempt was made in 1908 to remove the rock for fear that it would roll down and destroy nearby homes, but the efforts were wasted.

Qasr al-Farid, the Lonely Castle of the Nabataeans
The remote tomb of Qasr al-Farid, situated in the Saudi Arabian desert, dates back to the 1st Century CE. It was built by the Nabataean people, who also built Petra in Jordan. This site has remained largely undisturbed.

Death Valley’s sailing stones mystery SOLVED
The mysterious "sailing stones" of Death Valley have confused experts for years. The massive stones appear to travel over the dried lake bed known as Racetrack Playa in California's Death Valley National Park, leaving a path in the cracked mud behind them.

What is secret behind the Australia’s mysterious pink lake?
Lake Hillier in Australia maintains a bright pink hue all year round. Although no one knows for sure what causes the unique coloring, experts speculate that it might be the result of high salinity, a pink bacteria called “halobacteria,” and a salt-loving algae species called Dunaliella salina.

Mystery of 300-year-old mummified mermaid is being probed
There is a 300-year-old mummified mermaid with 30 centimetres tall and features a human-like head, two hands with what appear to be fingernails, and its lower body that look like a fish tail. The “mermaid mummy” is being probed by Japanese scientists in an attempt to unravel the mystery of its existence.

The Mystery of Canada's Magical Spotted Lake
Lake Khiluk, the world's most mineralized lake, and one of the most mysterious places on Earth. Each of these spots has a distinct chemical content and is said to cure various diseases.

The Mystery of Puma Punku’s Precise Stonework
Pumapunku's stone blocks were meticulously carved and polished to interlock with neighboring stones, forming a puzzle-like structure. The joints between them are incredibly precise. These characteristics show an intricate knowledge of descriptive geometry and stone cutting, indicating the use of highly advanced technology that would have seemed impossible at the time.

Recipient of suicide victim's heart kills himself 12 years later
In 1995, Sonny Graham received a transplanted heart from a suicide victim. He then committed suicide in the very same manner as the donor.

Jason Padgett: Became a Math genius after head injury in a robbery
Fate has no place in mathematics, yet fate played a role for Jason Padgett and his new fame for being a mathematical genius

When the Sky Rained Fish: An Unbelievable Encounter Above Alaska
A small Alaskan plane was hit by a fish falling from the sky. It had been dropped by an eagle that misjudged its grip. The plane was unharmed, but it made the news as possibly the weirdest bird strike ever.

Mystery SOLVED: blood Rain in India
The dissemination of spores of microalgae has been identified as the origin of the 'Blood Rain' phenomena, according to a new study by Indian and Austrian experts. Since 1896, reports of intermittent red-colored rain in portions of Kerala and Sri Lanka have been coming in. The most recent one occurred in 2013 over Kerala.

The mystery of India's 'lake of skeletons'
In 1942, a British forest guard in India made an alarming discovery. Some 16,000 feet above sea level, at the bottom of a small valley, was a frozen lake absolutely full of skeletons.

The Mystery of the Dancing Forest: Reasons behind the unusual wonders of forest
The Dancing Forest in Russia is noted for its unusually twisted pine trees. The trunks of these trees are contorted into spirals, rings, and other squiggly loops, but the reason for this malformation is still a mystery.

Chocolate Rain in Switzerland: How a Factory Malfunction Turned Olten Into a Sweet Spectacle
In 2020, chocolate 'rained' from the sky in a town in Switzerland. This incident was caused by a ventilation system malfunction at a chocolate factory in Olten. Strong winds then carried the snow-like cocoa powder and spread it around in the immediate vicinity of the factory, covering cars and other things in chocolate.

[solved] “macaroni mystery”, 500 pounds of pasta dumped in new jersey
In April 2023, Old Bridge, New Jersey, faced a peculiar 'Macaroni Mystery' when 500 pounds of pasta were mysteriously dumped in the woods.

What Is the Taos Hum? The Strange Low-Frequency Noise Heard in New Mexico
Since the early 1990s, residents of Taos, New Mexico, have reported hearing a mysterious low-frequency noise called the "Taos Hum." This strange, persistent buzzing or droning sound is only audible to a small fraction of the population and has baffled scientists and locals alike. Despite extensive investigations, the source of the Taos Hum remains unresolved, making it one of the most intriguing acoustic mysteries in the modern world.

Lightning bolt restores man’s sight and hearing.
In 1980, an old blind and partially deaf man, Edwin Robinson, was struck by lightning. He suffered no injuries, but the impact of the lightning bold cured his vision and hearing.

Inside The Mysterious Death Of The Famed Gothic Writer Edgar Allan Poe
Hours before his death Edgar Allen Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore. He was incoherent, wearing another man’s clothes, and unable to explain how he got there. The cause of his death is an unsolved mystery.

The Heartbreaking Story Of Ella Harper, The ‘Camel Girl’
Ella Harper, Professionally known as the “Camel Girl” was born with a rare orthopedic condition that cased her knee to bend backward. Due to this condition, had to walked on all four legs, which resulted in her nickname as “Camel Girl”. Tough it was hard at first, but soon she made a fortune out of it.

The mystery of the Sri Lankan national handball team's disappearance
In 2004, the whole Sri Lankan national handball team disappeared. Later, the Sri Lankan government denied the existence of such a team. The location of the team is still unknown.