Jim Sullivan Drove Into the Desert and Disappeared

About this episode

The episode explores the mysterious disappearance of musician Jim Sullivan in the New Mexico desert in 1975.

A struggling musician drives into the New Mexico desert with a guitar, a trunk full of records, and dreams of making it in Nashville. He is never seen again. This week on Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake dive into the bizarre true story of Jim Sullivan, a gifted songwriter whose cult-classic album U.F.O. became even more intriguing after he seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth in 1975. Along the way, they explore Sullivan’s connections to the California music scene, near-misses with fame, and the heartbreaking frustration of creating incredible music that nobody seemed to hear. From there the mystery only deepens. Abandoned hotel rooms, a cryptic final phone call, and a deserted Volkswagen discovered many miles from nowhere. With music that's worth celebrating and a disappearance worth investigating, this is how Jim Sullivan went from unheralded songwriter to unsolved mystery.

People in this episode

Hosts: Blake Wyland, Scott Marquart

Topics covered

• disappearance
• music history
• true crime
• mystery
• songwriting
• cult classic

Keywords

• Jim Sullivan
• disappearance
• New Mexico
• U.F.O.
• music
• mystery
• songwriter
• California music scene

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tape Spaghetti

Books & works: U.F.O.

Places: New Mexico, California

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