Buffoonery for 24 December: Bad Day for Doobie Bros.

In 1954, singer Johnny Ace shot himself and died while playing Russian roulette backstage at a show in Houston. His song "Pledging My Love" became a hit the next year. In 1961, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Tokens became the first African song to reach number one on the American pop charts. In 1965, The Beatles earned a gold record for the album "Rubber Soul," just two-and-a-half weeks after it was released. In 1972, police in Miami cut short a concert by Manfred Mann and his Earth Band. Fans rioted for about two hours while the band members hid in a dressing room. In 1973, Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers was arrested in Visalia, California, for marijuana possession. In 1978, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog of ABBA separated after seven years of marriage. In 1984, actor Peter Lawford died. He was 61. In 1990, actors Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman got married in Colorado. They had met while filming "Days of Thunder." They've since divorced. In 1992, former Doobie Brothers percussionist Bobby LaKind died after a long battle with cancer. He was 47. In 1997, the Gin Blossoms announced their breakup. Associated Press