Obituaries

Donnie Iris, "Ah! Leah!" Singer and Pittsburgh Rock Hero, Dies at 83

October 27, 2026

Donnie Iris, the Pittsburgh rocker who managed to be a one-hit wonder twice, taking "The Rapper" to the upper reaches of the charts as part of The Jaggerz, then climbing high on his own with the Top 40 hit "Ah! Leah!," died Monday. He was 83.

Although no cause of death was disclosed, Iris spent the last three years in treatment for bladder cancer. He announced his retirement on Oct. 9, writing, "After much thought, and in light of recent health issues, I have made the difficult decision to retire from future concert performances.” Iris held his farewell show on Sept. 28, playing to a hometown Pittsburgh crowd that considered him an institution.

Joe Grushecky, the leader of another one of the city's mainstays, The Iron City Houserockers, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "For my money, he was the most beloved Pittsburgh musician of all time. I don't know anyone who was loved more than Donnie. He just had that warmth about him, and it came through in his performance."

"The Rapper," a playful 1970 confection about a pickup artist, was such a big hit that it took on the air of a novelty record. The group fell apart after the song’s success, but Iris proved himself a survivor, playing guitar in Wild Cherry before refashioning himself as a friendly, harder-rocking Elvis Costello type on Back on the Streets, the 1980 album that was home to "Ah! Leah!," which split the difference between AOR and new wave.

Iris and the Cruisers, his backing band, kept trying for another hit during the early 1980s, coming close with "Love Is Like a Rock" and "My Girl" before retreating to the Midwest circuit, which welcomed them with open arms. Over the next four decades, Iris and keyboardist Mark Avsec kept the Cruisers on the road throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio, recording albums into the 2010s.

Born Dominic Ierace in New Castle, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 28, 1943, Iris grew up in Ellwood City. He formed the doo-wop group The Fabutons while in high school. The British Invasion inspired him to pick up a guitar and form The Jaggerz, a covers band that became a significant local draw. After a few years, the group signed to Gamble Records, launched by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff of Philadelphia International.

The Jaggerz released a pair of singles, "(That's Why) Baby I Love You” and "Gotta Find My Way Back Home," and an album that performed well enough for the band to earn the attention of Kama Sutra. Their new label issued "The Rapper" in 1970 and it became a national sensation, reaching #2 on the Billboard charts. Neither of their subsequent singles, "I Call My Baby Candy" and "What a Bummer," reached the Top 40 and by 1976, Iris had left the group.

After a brief spell with Pennsylvania singer B.E. Taylor, he spent the late '70s playing guitar in Wild Cherry, then a couple of years removed from their hit "Play That Funky Music." He formed a friendship with the band's keyboardist, Avsec, that continued with Donnie Iris & the Cruisers after the dissolution of Wild Cherry in 1979.

Filling out their lineup with Kevin Valentine, Albritton McClain and Marty Lee Hoenes, Donnie Iris & the Cruisers recorded Back on the Streets, which was credited to the singer alone. Initially released on the Cleveland imprint Midwest Records, the album was snapped up by MCA after "Ah! Leah!" became a local hit. MCA brought it to a national audience, helping the single peak at #29 in Billboard in 1981. The next year, "Love Is Like a Rock" and "My Girl" both cracked the Top 40, but Iris had difficulty finding a foothold at MTV, even when he released new wave-leaning singles like "Do You Compute?" in 1983.

Iris first shared a cover credit with the Cruisers on No Muss… No Fuss, released on HME in 1985. It was their last record to scrape the charts—"Injured in the Game of Love" eked out a spot at #91—but the group persevered for the next four decades.

As for day jobs, Iris worked in the mortgage business, while Avsec became a copyright lawyer. Stabilized by steady paychecks, the pair continued to lead varying lineups of the Cruisers onstage and on record. The band released its last album, the holiday set Ah! Leluiah!, in 2010 and played its final concert at Citizens Live at the Wylie last month.

Avsec said of Iris' farewell performance, "He sang like a bird that night. It was his first time on a chair, and he didn't like that. But the poor guy, the cancer was spreading, and he was in pain, and he really wanted to do that show and be with the people."