
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

Famous abandoned cities and ghost towns in the world
Learn the stories behind seven of the world's most renowned abandoned cities and villages, from the infamous Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe zone to Hashima Island.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

The birth or sign language in Nicaragua
When 50 deaf Nicaraguan children who did not know sign language were placed in the same classroom, they created their own sign language. Scientists are still researching the unique spontaneous appearance of language, as well as its own evolution and training of grammar.

The Unsolved mystery of Bobby Dunbar's Disappearance
In 1912, a four-year-old boy named Bobby Dunbar went missing on a family trip, 8 months later he was found and reunited with his family. Nearly a century later, DNA testing of his descendants revealed that the child reunited with the Dunbar family was not Bobby, but rather a boy named Charles (Bruce) Anderson who resembled Bobby.

Lucy and Maria The Biracial Twin Sisters with Rare Black and White Skin Colours
Lucy and Maria Aylmer are twins, but they have a hard time to convincing people. Even though they have mixed-raced parents, their mom was still shocked when the midwife handed her babies she’d expected to look alike, but were complete opposite.

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.

Jimmy Carter Once Promised to Release UFO Files—Here’s Why He Didn’t
During his 1976 presidential campaign, Jimmy Carter declared a bold intention: if elected, he would make all government UFO information available to the public. A man who openly admitted to having seen a UFO himself, Carter embodied a promise of transparency on one of the most controversial subjects of the Cold War era. However, once in office, Carter found powerful obstacles and, citing "national security concerns," chose not to release the files. This article unpacks Carter’s famous guarantee, the political realities he faced, and the enduring mystery surrounding government UFO secrecy.

The Remarkable story of jazz bassists Henry Grimes, lost but found as janitor and reclaimed the spotlight
Henry Grimes, one of the most versatile jazz bassists, disappeared in the 1960s and was later presumed dead. However, a jazz-loving social worker found him in 2002 working as a janitor in a hotel. Grimes found his way back into the limelight when a fellow musician sent him a bass as a gift. In 2016, he received a lifetime achievement award.

Thousands of Rare "Ice Eggs" Blanket Finnish Beach in Spectacular Natural Phenomenon
Thousands of ice balls recently covered a beach in Finland, a rare phenomenon caused by wind and waves sculpting pieces of ice into smooth spheres. These "ice eggs" can vary in size from chicken eggs to soccer balls and have also been spotted in other cold regions globally.

The Mystical Money Tree of the Scottish Highlands: A 1,700-Year-Old Tradition
In the Peak District Forest of the Scottish Highlands in the UK, there is a unique tree which is laden with only money. This tree laden with money has been studded with British coins for 1700 years, there is no corner of its trunk where a British coin is not stuck.

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.

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.

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.

What Caused The Mysterious Patomskiy Crater in Siberia?
Discovered in 1949, the Patomskiy Crater resembles a huge convex cone with a funnel-shaped recess and a rounded hill in the middle, which looks like an eagle’s nest with an egg nestled inside it. The crater’s origin is a mystery that has baffled scientists for decades.

The mysterious GIANT spherical stones
Mysterious spherical stones ranging in size from a few millimeters to several meters have been discovered in Crimea, United States, Russia, and New Zealand. There are many theories from various geologists, but none of them are clear.

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.

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.

The story of a boy who claims to be on Mars: Boriska Kipriyanovich
Boriska Kipriyanovich, who lives in Volgograd, Russia, claims he lived on Mars before being resurrected on Earth on a mission to redeem humanity. What we know about him is as follows:

Poland's Krzywy: The Mysteries of the Crooked trees
In Poland, there is a forest with 400 crooked trees that have a 90-degree bend at the base of their trunks. Despite of numerous possibilities, the real reason and how it evolved remain a mystery.

The Miracle Baby: Nigerian Couple in the UK Welcomes a Rare Blonde, Blue-Eyed Child
A black, Nigerian couple living in the U.K. gave birth to a white, blonde, blue-eyed baby that they call the "miracle baby."

What Was the Beast of Gévaudan?
Between 1764 and 1767, a mysterious animal called the Beast of Gévaudan terrorized the French village called Gévaudan. It attacked and killed about 100 adults and children. While most believe it was a wolf, some say it may have been a wolf-dog hybrid, hyena or even a lion, but without any genetic evidence, the beast will remain a mystery forever.