Donnie Iris Dies at 83 After Three Year Cancer Battle

Donnie Iris, the Pittsburgh rock musician whose powerful vocals helped deliver national hits with the Jaggerz and Donnie Iris and the Cruisers, has died at 83 after battling bladder cancer for three years. Friends and bandmates confirmed his death on Monday, October 26, 2026, marking the loss of a performer whose career helped shape Western Pennsylvania's music scene.

Iris became widely known for songs including Ah! Leah!, The Rapper, and Love Is Like a Rock. His work spanned several decades, from the regional club circuit of the 1960s to national chart success and continued performances with his band.

Joe Grushecky, a fellow Pittsburgh musician, remembered Iris for his influence and personal warmth.

"For my money, he was the most beloved Pittsburgh musician of all time," said Joe Grushecky.

Grushecky said Iris's popularity extended beyond his musical achievements, describing a performer whose personality connected with audiences.

"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," said Grushecky.

Born Dominic Ierace in New Castle and raised in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, Iris developed an interest in singing during childhood. His mother, who played piano at church, encouraged him to perform while the family had a piano at home.

In a 2018 interview, Iris recalled how his mother introduced him to music when he was still in elementary school.

"I started off really young. I was only like 6 or 7 years old. My mother taught me how to sing when I was real little.

We had a piano in the house, and she wanted me to sing. I probably would have rather gone out to play with the kids, but she wanted me to sing," Iris said.

His musical career began around 1961 with the doo-wop group the Fabutons. While attending Slippery Rock State College, now Slippery Rock University, he also played guitar and performed rock and roll and rhythm and blues covers with the Tri-Vels and Donnie and the Donnells.

Iris and Benny Faiella formed the Jaggerz in 1964. The group built a following in Beaver Falls by performing Motown songs and British Invasion hits at local clubs six nights a week.

Grushecky remembered seeing the group during its early years, before its biggest commercial success.

"I remember seeing him in the Jaggerz, when they were basically doing Motown covers, and I thought they were the best local band I'd ever seen at the time," said Grushecky.

The Jaggerz signed with Gamble Records, founded by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and released Introducing the Jaggerz in 1969. The following year, the group achieved national success with The Rapper, a song written by Iris about men approaching women in clubs.

Iris explained the inspiration behind the song during a 2018 interview, distinguishing its original meaning from the modern musical genre associated with the word.

"That was just from playing clubs. I noticed a lot of guys at the bar would go up to chicks and start rapping to them. It was another way of saying hitting on a girl, not what rap means nowadays," Iris said.

The Rapper reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, establishing the Jaggerz as one of the Pittsburgh area's most successful musical acts of the period. Iris later moved on from the group and performed with regional singer B.E. Taylor.

In 1978, Iris joined Wild Cherry as a guitarist and backing vocalist while working part time as an engineer at Jeree Recording in New Brighton. The experience introduced him to Cleveland-based keyboardist Mark Avsec, who would become his longtime musical collaborator.

After the pair decided to pursue their own material, they assembled a group featuring guitarist Marty Lee Hoenes, bassist Albritton McClain, and drummer Kevin Valentine. Together with Iris and Avsec, they formed Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.

Iris later reflected on the unsuccessful Wild Cherry recording project that preceded the partnership.

"The album was a stiff. It came out terrible," Iris said.

He explained that sharing the road with Avsec had helped lead to their decision to develop music independently. The musicians returned to Jeree Recording to work on material that became the album Back on the Streets.

The collaboration produced Ah! Leah!, a song built around a wordless vocal hook that Iris and his collaborators developed into a finished track.

Iris recalled how a woman he knew inspired the song's title and lyrical direction.

"We started out with just the hook, not even realizing it was a name. We just wanted some sort of a chant vocal going on in the song. I said, 'I know this girl named Leah. Why don't we just make the song about her?'" Iris said.

Released in 1980, Ah! Leah! gained radio attention in Cleveland and Pittsburgh before MCA Records distributed it nationally. The song peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of Iris's signature recordings.

Avsec remained Iris's collaborator through his final performance, held on September 28 at the new Citizens Live at the Wylie in Pittsburgh's Hill District. He remembered their relationship as both a close friendship and a lasting musical partnership.

"He was my best friend. I was his best friend. It was a very symbiotic relationship.

He was the most ordinary guy you ever met. The air was lighter when he was in the room. The mood was brighter when he was in the room.

I tend to be on the other side. Together, we had this wonderful career. We went through challenges together, and we remained really close friends," said Avsec.