{"id":6598,"date":"2026-10-27T13:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T17:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=6598"},"modified":"2026-10-27T13:37:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T17:37:03","slug":"6-facts-you-might-not-have-known-about-pop-rock-legend-donnie-iris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/6-facts-you-might-not-have-known-about-pop-rock-legend-donnie-iris\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Facts You Might Not Have Known About Pop Rock Legend Donnie Iris"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Top 40 hits like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/facts\/donnie-iris\/ah-leah\">\u201cAh! Leah!\u201d<\/a> and \u201cLove Is Like A Rock\u201d, rock musician <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/songs\/donnie-iris\">Donnie Iris<\/a> was a fixture on classic-rock radio stations, particularly in his hometown of Pittsburgh, where he was a beloved icon. Iris formed a few groups in his younger days, but it was bands like The Jaggerz and The Cruisers that led to multiple Top 40 hits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Jaggerz<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Jaggerz - &amp;apos;The Rapper&amp;apos;\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-fYV3dJp-k4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iris scored his first hit with his band The Jaggerz and their song \u201cThe Rapper\u201d, which hit No. 2 on the <em>Billboard<\/em> Hot 100. But the band wasn\u2019t able to replicate that success. &#8220;&#8216;The Rapper&#8217; was unlike anything else on the album and the band was pegged with a sound they didn&#8217;t feel really represented what they were all about,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parallel-time.com\/articles\/achievement.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Iris later explained<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wild Cherry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After The Jaggerz broke up in 1975, Iris joined Wild Cherry as a guitarist and backup vocalist in 1978, two years after they topped the charts with\u00a0\u201cPlay That Funky Music\u201d. During his time with the band, he met keyboard player Mark Avsec, who would become a longtime collaborator.\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Donnie Iris and The Cruisers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iris formed The Cruisers in the 80s with Avsec, and the band released their debut album, Back on the Streets, in 1980, which hit No. 57 on the charts. They also opened for some of classic rock\u2019s biggest names, including Bob Seger, U2, and more, and released a total of 11 albums.\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Top 40 Hits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Donnie Iris - Ah! Leah! (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Rh5kuxnDUc8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Back On The Streets<\/em> gave Donnie Iris and The Cruisers their first hit with \u201cAh! Leah!\u201d, which peaked at No. 29 on the <em>Billboard<\/em> Hot 100. They also had a few other Top 40 hits, including \u201cLove Is Like A Rock\u201d at No. 37 and \u201cMy Girl\u201d at No. 25\u2014the band&#8217;s biggest hit\u2014in 1981. Four other songs cracked the Top 100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">King Cool\u2028<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a show in 1980, a reviewer described Iris as the \u201cnew king of cool.\u201d And the nickname \u201cKing Cool\u201d stuck. Iris used the moniker for the title of his second album. That record was released in 1981 and included \u201cLove Is Like A Rock\u201d and \u201cMy Girl\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Retirement\u2028<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iris continued to perform into his 80s. His final show was on Sept. 28, 2026, for the grand opening of Pittsburgh\u2019s newest concert venue, and he officially announced his retirement on Oct. 9. Just over two weeks later, he died at age 83 after battling bladder cancer for three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Photo by Paul Natkin\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beloved Pittsburgh rocker Donnie Iris began his career with the band The Jaggerz before scoring Top 40 hits with The Cruisers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":547050,"featured_media":6611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":19,"post_id":80}}]},"savage_platform_role_ideator":[],"savage_platform_role_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_senior_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_photographer":[],"savage_platform_role_illustrator":[],"savage_platform_role_translator":[],"savage_platform_role_as-told-to":[],"savage_platform_role_reviewed-by":[],"savage_platform_disable_recirculation":false,"savage_platform_article_type":"news","savage_platform_vice_article_type":"article","savage_platform_article_intent":"","savage_platform_show_affiliate_disclaimer":false,"savage_platform_markdown_available":false,"savage_platform_markdown_version":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"wp_curate_deduplication":false,"wp_curate_unique_pinned_posts":false,"savage_platform_featured_image_caption":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"savage_platform_subheadline":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[581,18],"byline":[19],"class_list":["post-6598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lists","tag-donnie-iris","tag-rock-music"],"savage_platform_primary_term":{"category":{"term_name":"Lists","term_id":14,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/category\/lists\/"},"post_tag":{"term_name":"Donnie Iris","term_id":581,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/tag\/donnie-iris\/"}},"hide_from_homepage":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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