Donnie Iris, the Pittsburgh-area rocker behind “Ah! Leah!” and the Jaggerz’ 1970 hit “The Rapper,” died Monday, Oct. 26, at 83.
Joe Vitale Jr., who played drums in Iris’ band, the Cruisers, shared the news on Facebook. “Today my boss and friend Donnie Iris passed away at the age of 83,” he wrote, according to Parade.
What Was Donnie Iris’ Cause of Death?
Iris had been fighting bladder cancer for three years, Variety reported. Doctors found it in 2023, shortly after he played a sold-out show for his 80th birthday, CBS Pittsburgh reported. He canceled several dates at the time, then went back to performing.
Mark Avsec, his longtime keyboard player and best friend, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “the cancer was spreading, and he was in pain,” per Variety.
His Last Show Was a Month Ago
Iris played his final concert on Sept. 28 at Citizens Live at The Wylie, a new Pittsburgh venue holding its grand opening. He had a radiation treatment that afternoon and sang the show from a chair, Avsec told the Post-Gazette.
“It was the first time on a chair, and he didn’t like that,” Avsec said. “He sang like a bird that night.”
On Oct. 9, Iris announced in a letter posted to social media that he was done with live shows. “After much thought, and in light of recent health issues, I have made the difficult decision to retire from future concert performances,” he wrote. He called the Wylie show “a meaningful and fitting moment to share with all of you in my hometown,” WPXI reported.
From the Jaggerz to Wild Cherry
Iris was born Dominic Ierace on Feb. 28, 1943, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearby Ellwood City.
He first made it with the Jaggerz. “The Rapper,” which he wrote and sang, went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970 and earned him a gold record. Despite the title, the song has nothing to do with hip-hop. It’s about a guy sweet-talking girls.
In the late ’70s he joined Wild Cherry as a guitarist, a couple of years after the band’s No. 1 hit “Play That Funky Music.” That’s where he met Avsec.
‘Ah! Leah!’ and ‘King Cool’
The two of them started Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. Their first album, Back on the Streets, came out in 1980 and reached No. 57 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, “Ah! Leah!,” peaked at No. 29 on the Hot 100, according to Wikipedia.
The next album was called King Cool, after a reviewer described Iris as the “new king of cool” following a 1980 show, according to CBS Pittsburgh. It gave him two more Top 40 singles, “Love Is Like a Rock” and “My Girl.”
Over the years, the Cruisers toured with Journey, Foreigner, Loverboy, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett and Hall & Oates. Iris kept making records and playing shows for decades, mostly around Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Cleveland.
Fellow Pittsburgh rocker Joe Grushecky told the Post-Gazette: “For my money, he was the most beloved Pittsburgh musician of all time.”
