Donnie Iris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Donnie Iris | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | February 28, 1943  Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genre(s) | Rock Pop-rock Power Pop |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1965 – present |
| Label(s) | MCA |
| Associated acts | The Jaggerz, Wild Cherry, Cellarful of Noise, The Cruisers |
| Website | www.donnieiris.com |
Donnie Iris (born February 28, 1943) is an American rock musician known for his work with The Jaggerz and Wild Cherry during the 1970s, and for his solo albums during the 1980s. He was responsible for writing the #2 Billboard hit "The Rapper", with the Jaggerz, and was a member of Wild Cherry after they experienced a #1 hit with "Play That Funky Music". After going on to release five solo albums in the 1980s accompanied with many charting singles, Iris continues to release new material and tour in the Ohio River Valley area, and he maintains a loyal fan base, especially in Pittsburgh.
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[edit] Biography
Born Dominic Ierace in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, 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. Donnie learned how to sing from his Mother and then from Tony Bennett and Marvin Gaye. A self-taught guitarist, he formed Donnie & the Donnells while in college.[1]
[edit] 1970s
He first came to national prominence as the lead singer of the group The Jaggerz, which became famous for its #2 hit "The Rapper", written by Iris. 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 unable to duplicate their previous success and disbanded by the end of the decade. Becoming good friends, Donnie and Mark decided to form a project together and the two began writing songs. Their first release saw the disco-influenced single "Bring on the Eighties" backed by the cover song "Because of You" in 1979, however it failed to garner attention. Iris and Avsec decided to go in a harder direction for their next release and returned to the studio with guitarist Marty Lee Hoenes, bassist Albritton McClain and drummer Kevin Valentine to record their first full length album. This line-up would remain the same for the next five years. While the band is referred to as Donnie Iris and the Cruisers, only Donnie Iris is credited as the main performer on the early albums since the band decided that it would be a solo effort by Iris.
[edit] 1980s
Their first album, Back on the Streets, was released in 1980 on the small Cleveland, Ohio-based Midwest Records.[2] As the first single from the album, "Ah! Leah!", began to chart, MCA took notice and quickly signed the band to a 5 album deal and re-released the album nationally. "Ah! Leah!" peaked at #29 and became one of the most frequently played AOR tracks of the year, and the album reached #57. In addition, the band launched a national tour to promote the album and its follow-up during the summer of 1981.[3]
The follow-up album, King Cool (1981), garnered the band even greater fame in Mainstream rock, with charting singles "My Girl", "Love is Like a Rock", and "Sweet Merilee" all entering the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, he gained the nickname King Cool from this album in the later part of his career. However, the album itself charted less successfully, at #84. After the long tour promoting their two previous albums, the band continued songwriting and in the fall of 1982 released The High and the Mighty.[4] The album contained the single "Tough World", but only charted at #180, marking a decline in his success, but the band still was determined to release new material.
Their next album one year later, Fortune 410, contained the hit single "Do You Compute?", which was used by their label MCA and the computer company Atari to form a cross-marketing promotion. Because the promotional partnership was secured prior to release of the album, it was possible to use the Atari 1200 XL Home Computer in poster photography, as well as in the video clip for "Do You Compute?", which aired on MTV. The title of the album is a reference to the trademark glasses Iris wears, Fortune 410s.[5] The combination of marketing and the promotion for its hit single allowed the album to chart higher than its predecessor. The next album, No Muss...No Fuss, continued the trend two years later in 1985, by charting at #115 with the single "Injured in the Game of Love". Both of these albums were more critically acclaimed than The High and the Mighty.[6]
In 1985, just prior to the release of No Muss...No Fuss, the band began to split into different directions. Drummer Kevin Valentine and bassist Albritton McClain left to join a new group, The Innocent, among whose members included future Nine Inch Nails main man Trent Reznor. That same year, keyboardist Mark Avsec, also a longtime friend of Iris, released a solo project under the moniker Cellarful of Noise. Even after releasing the eponymous debut album that same year, however, the two maintained that Donnie Iris and the Cruisers was still their main focus, and that they wanted to continue to release new albums with the band and its new line-up.[7] The band returned to the studio in 1986 and recorded a new album titled Cruise Control, however, a lawsuit with the band's former label MCA resulted in the shelving of that album pending the resolution of that lawsuit. It still not been released as of 2007 although some material is thought to have been released on subsequent releases. Since the band seemed to have hit a road block, Iris partnered with Avsec on the second Cellarful of Noise album, Magnificent Obsession, which was released in 1988.
[edit] 1990s
Donnie Iris and the Cruisers returned to the studio in 1992 to release their first album containing new material since 1985. Titled Out of the Blue, the album was a compilation album containing older hits and new material. It failed to have any impact on the charts, however. Still, the band toured throughout the rest of the year around Pennsylvania and Ohio, and attracted newer and younger fans from the area.[8] The band released another album the following year, Footsoldier in the Moonlight. At this point, the band underwent yet another line-up change as bassist Scott Williamson and drummer Tommy Rich departed the group, and were replaced by Scott Alan and Steve McConnell respectively.
In the summer of 1994, original members Albritton McClain and Kevin Valentine temporarily reunited with Iris, Avsec and Hoenes to record the first album of all new material by the original line-up in nearly 10 years. During recording, the band performed one reunion show together at Conneaut Lake. The album Poletown would see release in 1997 and was notable for its shift in style to a mature blues influenced sound.[who?]
In 1998, the band released their first live album. A collection of tracks played at Nick's Fat City, a popular Pittsburgh nightclub, Live! At Nick's Fat City was the first to feature bass guitarist Paul Goll who had been touring with the band since 1995 along with drummer Tommy Rich. 1999 saw the release of an Iris collaborative project entitled Together Alone. After Alone, which featured a softer side of Iris's vocals, the band took a break from releasing new material but continued to perform regularly through the decade.
[edit] 2000s
The first true compilation album by the band was released in 2001, The Best of Donnie Iris. In 2004, the band celebrated its 25th anniversary with a new album, 25 Years, and performed live at the Chevrolet Amphitheatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for 4,000 people. This concert was known for featuring a four drummer lineup of current and previous drummers for the band; Kevin Valentine, Tommy Rich, Brice Foster and Mark Avsec's daughter Danna Avsec, who was the guest drummer.[9] Since then, the band has used a three drummer line-up for several concerts. The band's newest album, Ellwood City, released in 2006, is a tribute to Iris' hometown, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.[10] June 17, 2006 was recognized throughout Lawrence County, Pennsylvania as Donnie Iris Day by Ellwood City Executive Council President Glenn Jones and Mayor Roy P. Meehan. Today, Donnie owns and operates his own mortgage company in Aliquippa, PA. Iris also received special commendations and awards from United States Congresswoman Melissa Hart and Pennsylvania state representative Frank LaGrotta, who reportedly has a huge poster of Donnie on his office wall. Now a middle-aged grandfather, Iris says he's' still hopeful that someone somewhere might hear his new stuff and make it available.[11]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Back on the Streets (1980) #57 US
- King Cool (1981) #84 US
- The High and the Mighty (1982) #180 US
- Fortune 410 (1983) #127 US
- No Muss...No Fuss (1985) #115 US
- Out of the Blue (1992)
- Footsoldier in the Moonlight (1993)
- Poletown (1997)
- Live! At Nick's Fat City (1998)
- Together Alone (1999)
- The Best of Donnie Iris (2001)
- 25 Years (2004)
- Ellwood City (2006)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Pop Singles | U.S. Mainstream Rock | ||||
| 1981 | "Ah! Leah!" | 29 | 19 | ||
| "I Can't Hear You" | - | 47 | |||
| "Sweet Merilee" | 80 | 31 | |||
| 1982 | "Love is Like a Rock" | 37 | 9 | ||
| "My Girl" | 25 | - | |||
| "Tough World" | 57 | 26 | |||
| "The High and the Mighty" | - | 39 | |||
| 1983 | "Do You Compute?" | 64 | 20 | ||
| 1985 | "Injured in the Game of Love" | 91 | 28 | ||
[edit] Donnie Iris and the Cruisers members
[edit] Main line-up
| (1980-1985) |
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| (1985-1992) |
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| (1992-1993) |
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| (1994-2003) |
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| (2003-present) |
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- Kevin Valentine and Brice Foster share duties as drummer for the band.
[edit] References
- ^ The Official Home of Donnie Iris and The Cruisers
- ^ The Unofficial Donnie Iris Site - Articles
- ^ allmusic ((( Donnie Iris > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))
- ^ http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1174639047208580.xml&coll=2
- ^ The Unofficial Donnie Iris Site - Articles
- ^ allmusic ((( Donnie Iris > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))
- ^ The Unofficial Donnie Iris Site - Articles
- ^ The Unofficial Donnie Iris Site - Articles
- ^ The Official Home of Donnie Iris and The Cruisers
- ^ The Unofficial Donnie Iris Site - Articles
- ^ The Unofficial Donnie Iris Site - Articles
