James Anthony Sullivan was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who released two albums before disappearing in New Mexico in March of 1975. His sound ranges from Americana & folk to rock and country. His original sound was inspired by the local blues group he grew up listening to.
His album, U.F.O, is the perfect soundtrack for Sunday drive around Pennsylvania, which is exactly how I listened to it the first time. The album has 10 songs is about 30 minutes long. Â The album was originally released in 1969 and later remixed and reissued by Century City Records in 1970.
In 1972, Sullivan recorded his second album, Jim Sullivan. Similarly to the first, the album was not successful and hit the singer the hardest.
In the spirit of Halloween and all things spooky, however, I would like to shift the focus from his music to the mystery of his disappearance. The singer left his home in Los Angeles on March 4, 1975, to drive to Nashville, alone, in his Volkswagen Beetle. The next day (March 5), after being cautioned by a highway patrol officer regarding his driving, he checked into the La mesa Motel in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Reports suggested he did not sleep there and left his key inside the room, and later bought a bottle of vodka at the town store. Sullivan was seen the following day (March 6) about 26 miles away at a secluded ranch owned by the Gennitti family. His car was later found abandoned at the ranch, and he was reportedly last seen walking away from it. Sullivanʻs papers, money, guitar, clothes, and a box of his unsold records.
Jim Sullivan was never seen again. Search parties failed to find a single trace of him. Later a decomposed body resembling Sullivan was found in a remote area several miles away but was determined not to be his. Some speculate that he was murdered, the police believe he became disoriented and lost, and others believe, especially in light of the title of his first alum, he was abducted by aliens.
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~Reagan Thornley