Donnie Iris

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Donnie Iris album,
King Cool.

Donnie Iris (born Dominic Ierace 1943 in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania) was a former member of the group The Jaggerz (the one-hit wonder from 1970 responsible for the number-two hit "The Rapper").

Iris began singing at weddings at age five, and by eight was performing on local television and entering talent contests. When his voice changed, he took up the drums but later got back into singing while in high school. A self-taught guitarist, he formed Donnie & the Donnells while in college.

After the Jaggerz broke up, Iris toured with Wild Cherry, whose 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music" had made them a hot property into the end of the decade. It was during this period that he became acquainted with his future partner Mark Avsec, now playing keyboards for Wild Cherry. Unfortunately, Wild Cherry was another one-hit wonder, and Iris was out of a job by 1980. But Donnie, along with Avsec, and his new band, The Cruisers, returned to the pop charts in the early 1980s several times. He scored minor hits with the songs "Ah! Leah!" (reached #29 on the Billboard charts), "My Girl" and "Love is Like a Rock".

Aside from his hits ("Ah! Leah!" still gets FM airplay nationwide), Iris and The Cruisers were unable to achieve major success outside of the Pittsburgh area; however they still record and perform in the Ohio Valley to this day. Donnie continues to play in the Pittsburgh area and has recently performed the Star-Spangled Banner at a Pittsburgh Penguins Game.