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All Music Guide:
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jim Sullivan only released two albums, one in 1969 and a second in 1972, but neither sold well, although his talent was obvious, and its easy to imagine that he would have eventually have had a commercial breakthrough had he not mysteriously vanished in New Mexico in 1975, a disappearance that has yet to be solved or explained. A fixture on the West Coast and Malibu music scene, Sullivan, a former high-school quarterback, rubbed shoulders with the hip and famous in the late '60s and early '70s, hanging out with actors like Harry Dean Stanton, taking a bit part in the film Easy Rider, writing songs full of restless despair that he sang in a rich, Fred Neil-like voice, and winning over crowds wherever he played. His first album, U.F.O., recorded with drummer Earl Palmer and the rest of the famed Wrecking Crew, and boasting tasteful string arrangements by Jimmy Bond, was released in 1969 and featured songs about aliens, desert highways, and desperate redemption. U.F.O. failed to generate the attention and sales it probably deserved, however. After a second album in 1972, Sullivan began to think his career might stand a better chance in Nashville, and he left California to drive to Tennessee in March of 1975. He checked into a Santa Rosa, NM motel en route and was never seen again -- his truck was found empty outside of town and his guitar, clothes, and wallet were found in his motel room. The whole thing eerily echoed some of the themes Sullivan had dealt with on his U.F.O. album six years earlier, further giving a unique album an even odder resonance. Light in the Attic Records re-released U.F.O. to the digital age in 2010, giving a lost folk-rock gem a second chance to find an audience.
Wikipedia:
Jim Sullivan (2 December 1903 — September 1977) was a Welsh rugby league footballer and coach. A Fullback and prodigious goal kicker, he scored 6,022 points in a career that spanned 25 years. Several years after his death he was still the player with the most appearances and most goals for the Wales national rugby league team. He also represented Wales in baseball (British/Welsh).
Sullivan joined Wigan in June 1921 from Cardiff Rugby Union Club as a 17-year-old. On 14 February 1925, he landed 22 goals against amateurs Flimby & Fothergill in the Rugby League Challenge Cup, which is still a record. He toured with the Great Britain Lions three times (1924, 1928 and 1932) and was captain on the final occasion. He top-scored on all three tours. He refused what would have been a record fourth trip, in 1936, for personal reasons.
For twenty years, he dominated at Fullback, representing Great Britain (25 times), Wales (26), England (3), Other Nations (6), British Empire (1), Glamorgan (1), and Glamorgan & Monmouthshire (12). Due to the Second World War, his last season was 1939/40, although he played several times when peace resumed, the last for Batley in February 1946.
When he removed his Wigan jersey for the final time, he had made 774 appearances and amassed 2,317 goals and 4,883 points for the club. These figures are still unchallenged. He scored a club record of 161 goals in 1934/35 and a record total of 204 goals in 1933/34 (including representative games). He had won three league Championships, two Challenge Cups and three Lancashire Cups.
As a player-coach from 1932, Sullivan continued managing Wigan after retiring as a player, creating one of the club's greatest sides by winning a record 5 Championships and 2 Challenge Cups. In 1952 he joined St Helens RLFC, overseeing their rise to power. He later returned to Wigan as coach in 1961, but left months later due to ill health.
Jim Sullivan died in Wigan in 1977, aged 73. He was one of the inaugural inductees of the British Rugby League Hall of Fame in October 1988. He is also an inductee of the Wigan Hall of Fame.
