Song:Ah! Leah!
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Donnie Iris
Ah! Leah! was the debut solo single and the breakthrough hit for rocker Donnie Iris in 1981. He had some other hits in the 80s. But music fans may not be aware that Iris had success before that. He was born Dominic Ierace Feb. 28, 1943 in Ellwood City, PA which is near Pittsburgh. While attending Slippery Rock University, he led The Trivells which became Donnie and the Donnelles. The Donnelles merged with Gary and the Jewel Tones to become The Jaggerz. The Jaggerz reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with The Rapper in 1970. Ierace wrote the song and sang lead vocals. It was the group's only hit. Kama Sutra Records dropped them in 1973 and they split up in 1976. You may recall Wild Cherry and their 1976 hit Play That Funky Music. Ierace joined Wild Cherry in 1978 and played on their third and fourth albums. It was here that he met long time songwriting partner Mark Avsec. Wild Cherry hired him as a session keyboard player and then joined the band in 1976. When Wild Cherry split up in 1979, the two decided to work together and produce music as Donnie Iris & The Cruisers. They tried disco at first. But when that didn't work, they went in a rock direction. Iris' debut album Back On The Streets was released on the Cleveland based indie label Midwest Records. When Ah! Leah! started getting radio play, MCA Records signed Iris and re-released the album and single. Ah! Leah! reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. Avsec produced the album and Iris and Avsec wrote all of his songs. They had some other chart success including the 1982 single My Girl. But the band seemed to stall and split up in 1985. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Mark Avsec became a copyright lawyer but still performs with Iris. Isis is in the mortgage business. They still record occasionally and released a Christmas album a few months ago. Here's the video for Ah! Leah by Donnie Iris.
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