Today in 1954, R&B singer Johnny Ace had a concert at the City Auditorium in Houston. Between sets, Ace was playing with a revolver. When someone in the room said, “Be careful with that thing,” Ace replied, “It’s OK, the gun’s not loaded. See?” And pointed the gun at his head, and pulled the trigger. And found out he was wrong.

The number one album today in 1965 was the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul”:

If you think accidentally blowing your brains out is a strange way to celebrate Christmas, this isn’t much better: Today in 1973, Tom Johnson of the Doobie Brothers was arrested in Visalia, Calif., for (irony alert) possession of marijuana. Johnson’s court date was set for Jan. 10, the scheduled release for his group’s next album (irony alert II), “What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits”:

The number one album today in 1976 was the Eagles’ “Hotel California”:

The number one single today in 1988:

The short list of birthdays begin with Lee Dorsey, who was …

Jan Akkerman of Focus:

Ricky Martin:

Two other deaths of note today: Zeke Carey of the Flamingos in 1999 …

… and Nick Massi of the Four Seasons today in 2000:

Seasonally appropriate music (in contrast to what was here) later today.

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