The Mysterious Case of Jim Sullivan

Thanks to Tom Adler for telling me about this strange little story about a musician who was last seen 35 years ago in Santa Rosa, N.M.

The story of Jim Sullivan aired on NPR Thursday. He was a singer-songwriter (whose music, honestly, isn't the type of stuff I like). He had a bit part in Easy Rider, (the commune scene, according to his sister.) By early 1975 he'd decided to leave Los Angeles to try his luck in the Nashville music game.

Sullivan recorded an album called UFO  for a small label on which some top-notch L.A. studio cats -- members of The Wrecking Crew -- played. The title song of the album has caused some of his more mystical fans to speculate that perhaps his disappearance is connected to beings from beyond.

Matt Sullivan, no relation to Jim, is owner of the Light in the Attic record company, which last month re-released UFO. In the Aquarium Drunkard blog he wrote a lengthy piece about the singer after traveling to California and to Santa Rosa seeking clues about Jim Sullivan.

Jim left Los Angeles in his Volkswagen Bug sometime between noon and 1 p.m. on March 4. In the early morning hours of March 5, he was pulled over outside Santa Rosa for swerving. He was taken to the local police station for a sobriety test, which he passed. He was swerving from fatigue caused by the taxing 15-hour drive. Jim checked into the La Mesa Motel, but police reports later indicated that the bed in his room was not slept in, and the key was found locked inside the room.

Jim Sullivan's VW was found on ranch property 26 miles southeast of Santa Rosa.

Jim Sullivan has never been seen again.

Matt Sullivan writes:

We know that after he checked into the La Mesa, Jim stopped by the liquor store, bought some vodka, and drove around town. Somehow he ended up at this ranch. ... When the police found Jim’s car it was locked and the engine was dead. A number of things were found in the car, including Jim’s wallet, guitar, clothes, reel-to-reel tapes, cassettes, silver appointment book, and a box of LP’s of Jim’s 1972 self-titled album on the Playboy label.

Matt Sullivan met with Guadalupe County Communicator publisher M.E. Sprengelmeyer and veteran Santa Rosa reporter Davy Delgado.

(Weird little bit of synchronicity: I don't know Sprengelmeyer personally, but he and I have mutual friends, and one of them is named Sullivan -- my former New Mexican colleague T.J. Sullivan. I don't think he's related to Jim or Matt Sullivan.)

Matt Sullivan writes:

For more than two years, search parties were regularly convened by a number of agencies – the New Mexico State Police, Santa Rosa police, and a number of volunteer groups.

What happened to Jim Sullivan probably never will be known. Just another bizarre unsolved case from New Mexico.



Photo of La Mesa motel by John Hartnup on FLICKR, Creative Commons license.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, December 10, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
The Party's Over by Willie Nelson (for Dandy Don)
What Go Around Come Around by Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band
Tupelo County Jail by Webb Pierce
Birmingham Jail by Johnny Bond
Dirty Dog by Jimmie Revard & His Oklahoma Playboys
Your Friends Think I'm The Devil by The Imperial Rooster
Humpty Dumpty Heart by  Hank Thompson
A Fool Such As I by Marti Brom
I've Gotta Lotta Livin' To Do by Cornell Hurd

Ian Tyson Tribute Set
Wild Geese by Bill & Bonnie Hearne
Four Strong Winds by Neil Young with Nicolette Larson
Navajo Rug by Tom Russell
Summer Wages by David Bromberg

Is Santa Claus A Hippy  by Linda Cassady
Slaughter in a Winter Wonderland by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Feliz Navidad by  Billy Joe Shaver & Flaco Jimenez

TWISTED TALES FROM THE VINYL WASTELAND set

Beatin' on the Bars by The Travelin' Texans
The Voo-Doo Man by  Johnny Perry
Marijuana, The Devil Flower by Johnny Price
The Hep Old Frog  by  Jimmy Stayton 
Out In The Smokehouse Takin' A Bath by Leroy Pullins 
Excorcism by Tommy Scott & Scotty Lee
Jesus is My Pusher by Margie Singleton
Mother Trucker by Lloyd Hugo
The Girl on Death Row by Lee Hazelwood
Nudist Colony by Kirk Hansard

Wide Stance by Buddy
I'm Playin' It Cool by Neal Jones
Troubles by Tara Nivens & Moontree Sinqua
Xmas Ornament by The Defibulators
The Virginian by Neko Case
On A Christmas Day by C.W. Stoneking
One Endless Night by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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TERRELL'S TUNEUP: WHAT LURKS INSIDE THE RAY CHARLES VAULTS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 

December 10, 2010

So you thought Ray Charles died in 2004? To that I say, “But wait a minute!” — as Charles sometimes used to exclaim in the middle of a song. Here’s Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters, a brand-new collection of 10 Charles songs that sound like they could have been recorded this year.

Actually, some of the instrumental tracks on this album were recorded fairly recently. They’re built around vocal tracks discovered in the vaults of Charles’ recording studio.

Whenever I read about “lost” recordings uncovered “in the vaults,” I get this image of Indiana Jones making his way through some dank underground labyrinth protected by pygmy warriors and venomous reptiles beneath the streets of Beverly Hills.

Producer John Burk, who was at the helm for Charles’ last studio album, Genius Loves Company, probably wasn’t wearing a pith helmet or wielding a machete when he came across these forgotten tracks. But it had to be a rush for him.

The songs span the decades, going back to the 1970s. Some of them were basically finished and required no further work — such as the blues-drenched “It Hurts to Be in Love.” Some were just demos. Burk whipped them all into shape, calling in studio musicians to add final touches to some of the tunes.

By the end, he created a unified work that would have made Charles proud. Except maybe the song “I Don’t Want No One But You,” the sole clunker here, the album doesn’t sound overproduced, which can’t be said of all the records Charles made when he was alive.

I can’t imagine why “It Hurts to Be in Love” was never released. It sounds like a classic Charles tune, with a prominent bass and a big horn section that punctuates Charles’ vocals without overwhelming the song. There’s a lengthy fade-out as Charles plays with the tune, “crying” in falsetto, pleading, jiving, and generally having fun despite the “hurt” in the title.

Even more fun is the funky “I’m Gonna Keep on Singin’,” which also was a finished work. Charles begins with a simple command: “Y’all listen!” There’s some fine call and response with his lovely Raelettes and a spoken-word segment in which Charles talks to the creator of the universe:

“Friends, I told the Lord himself this morning, I said ‘Lord, you know I don’t mean a bit of harm in the world. ...’ ”

It reminds me of Charles’ old song “Understanding,” which also featured some spoken-word segments. There are some great instrumental solos here, too — vibes, sax, and trumpet.

Brother Ray also gets down and bluesy on the slow and soulful “There’ll Be Some Changes Made.” This is one that features overdubbing. Keb Mo’ plays guitar, but the standout is the organ work by Bobby Sparks.

Charles’ love for country music is well documented. It comes out on Rare Genius with “A Little Bitty Tear,” a Hank Cochran song that was a hit in the 1960s for Burl Ives. It’s sparsely produced, with Charles and his piano out front. “She’s Gone” sounds even more country: “The love affair is all over, but the heartaches just began.”

Charles does a duet with another biopic subject, Johnny Cash, on Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me Lord?” which was produced in Nashville by Billy Sherrill (this one’s from the Sony Music vaults, which is guarded by different pygmies). I suspect it was recorded for a Cash album because Charles mainly sings background and plays some tasty electric piano.

Something tells me there’s a lot more treasure from the genius in those vaults, so don’t be surprised to see volumes two and three in the future. But as a die-hard fan, what I would like to see would be a collection of the raw tapes without new overdubs. Maybe call it “Ray Charles in the Rough.”

Also recommended:

*   What Goes Around Comes Around by The Diplomats of Solid Sound. Once again, The Diplomats prove that there’s more than corn in Iowa. Here’s a new crop of funky soul from Iowa City.

The Diplomats started out as an instrumental band. A few years ago they served as Andre Williams’ backup band on Aphrodisiac. Then with their 2008 album, Diplomats of Solid Sound Featuring the Diplomettes, female vocals became part of the Diplomatic mix. Two of the three Diplomettes — Sarah Cram and Katharine Ruestow — are back for this album. And so are the Brothers Basinger — sax dude David and keyboard guy Nate.

One of my favorites here is “Back Off” — a protest song of sorts, though I don’t think telling the cops or the military to “back off” is necessarily effective. Then there’s “Gimme One More Chance,” which features some soul violin by guest Diplomat Hannah Drollinger, doing her best to sound like Don “Sugarcane” Harris.

The title song has a blaxploitation-movie-soundtrack feel, with punchy horn riffs, while “Can’t Wait for Your Love,” subtitled “Pistol Allen,” is apparently an ode, in spirit at least, to the late Motown drummer Richard “Pistol” Allen. It sounds almost like a lost Martha and the Vandellas tune, embellished with sweet, almost otherworldly chimes.

Jim Morrison Pardoned

Here in New Mexico we still don't know what Gov. Bill Richardson is going to do with Billy the Kid, but down in Florida outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist today pardoned Jim Morrison for his 1969 (settle down, Beavis) indecent-exposure conviction.

From the Associated Press:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – This is the end for 40-year-old convictions that left Jim Morrison marked with what today would be considered sex-offender status. Florida's Clemency Board, egged on by departing Gov. Charlie Crist, pardoned The Doors' long-dead singer Thursday on indecent exposure and profanity charges stemming from a wild concert.


Some people who were at the Miami show March 1, 1969, insist even today that he exposed himself, though others in the audience and Morrison's bandmates contend he was just teasing the crowd and only pretended to do the deed. Crist, tuned in to the controversy by a Doors fan, said there was enough doubt about what happened at the Dinner Key Auditorium to justify a pardon.


The board, which consists of Crist and a three-member Cabinet, voted unanimously to pardon Morrison as they granted several other pardons Thursday. At the hearing, the governor called the convictions a "blot" on the record of an accomplished artist for "something he may or may not have done."

Jackie Gleason, who organized a "Rally for Decency" prompted by the Morrison arrest, couldn't be reached for comment. Like Morrison, he's dead.

So now that this issue is done with, how about a "Pardon Sid Vicious" movement?

My Favorite Oklahoma Christmas Song

As a native Oklahoman, nothing says Christmas more than the commercial for B.C. Clark's, a jewelry store. The jingle for the ad has been stuck in my head for -- I'm not kidding -- 50 years or so. Maybe longer. The store has run various spots with the same jingle since 1956!

Here's one I found on YouTube:



And here's a version sung on the Jay Leno show by Megan Mullally, who played Karen, the slutty, pill-popping assistant on Will and Grace. She was raised in Oklahoma City (and this proves it.)