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Biography
Donnie Iris is an American rock musician best known for his 80s hits "Ah, Leah!" and "Love is Like a Rock", both inspired by contemporary new wave and power pop music. Born Dominic Ierace in middle class Pennsylvania, he got his first real start as a member of the pop group The Jaggerz (the one-hit-wonder responsible for 1970's #2 hit "The Rapper"). After the Jaggerz broke up, Iris toured with funk rock group Wild Cherry, whose 1976 smash "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, a musician then playing keyboards for Wild Cherry. Unfortunately, Wild Cherry ended up being regarded as another one-hit-wonder, and Iris was out of a job by 1980. But Iris and Avsec, and their new band, titled "The Cruisers", returned to the charts several times in the 80s. Iris particularly scored hits with the songs "Ah, Leah!" (a track from 'Back to the Streets' that reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100), "Love is Like a Rock" (reaching #37 on that Billboard chart), and "My Girl" (reaching #25 on that Billboard chart). "Ah, Leah!" has became known as Iris' 'signature song' and has been included in many multi-artist compilation albums.
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