Donnie Iris

Donnie Iris (born Dominic Ierace, February 28, 1943) is an American rock musician known for his work with the Jaggerz and Wild Cherry during the 1970s, and for his solo career beginning in the 1980s with his band, the Cruisers.

About the time he was a senior in high school (circa 1961), Ierace's voice changed again, and he got back into singing.

He formed a vocal doo-wop group called the Fabutons with Johnny Roth, Anthony Matteo, Lou Delessandro and Chuckie Hasson and performed gigs around Beaver and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania.

However, the group only performed a few times before they disbanded and Ierace went to college.

While attending Slippery Rock State College, Ierace formed a band called the Tri-Vels with guitarist Jim Evans and drummer Dave Amodie, two fellow students at Slippery Rock.

With the addition of bassist Dave Reiser, they renamed themselves Donnie and the Donnells.

This band in both incarnations played R&B and pop rock covers at fraternity parties and lasted from about 1961 to 1964.

Around 1964, Ierace left Donnie and the Donnells to form the Jaggerz (originally the "Jaggers") with Benny Faiella of Gary and the Jewel Tones.

After a few changes in line-up early on (including acquiring Jimmie Ross and Jim Pugliano from the Bell Boys ), the group became popular playing R&B covers throughout western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.

Eventually, Ierace and the Jaggerz began to write their own material and secured a contract with Gamble Records.

Their first album, Introducing the Jaggerz, was released in 1969.

The album was only a minor success, mainly receiving airplay in Iris' native Beaver County and the rest of the greater Pittsburgh area.

Perhaps most importantly, it was the first album Ierace recorded on.

He wrote the #2 Billboard hit, "The Rapper", with the Jaggerz in 1970 and was a member of Wild Cherry after the group had a #1 hit with "Play That Funky Music."

Ierace and the Jaggerz first came to national prominence in 1970 for the #2 hit "The Rapper," written by Ierace and included on their second album, We Went to Different Schools Together, released on the Kama Sutra label.

The album itself reached #69 on the charts.

Throughout the 1970s, Ierace was credited by various names on Jaggerz and Wild Cherry albums: by his birth name, Dominic Ierace; Don Ierace; and a stage name he had adopted to make it easier for people to remember his name, Don Iris.

By the end of the decade, as far as his music/public life went, he went by the name of Donnie Iris.

It was during this period that he became acquainted with Mark Avsec, then playing keyboards for Wild Cherry.

Wild Cherry was unable to duplicate the success of "Play That Funky Music" and disbanded by the end of the decade.

The Jaggerz would go on to release one more album, Come Again, in 1975 when they were signed with Wooden Nickel Records.

However, it failed to produce any more hits for the group.

Between 1975 and 1976, most of the Jaggerz' longtime members left the group, including Ierace in 1976.

Also, he did about a two-year stint (1976-1978) playing shows with B. E. Taylor.

While working at Jeree, the band Wild Cherry (a hot commodity because of their 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music," which had been recorded there), was booked for a recording session.

Ierace helped to engineer their third album, I Love My Music.

The band was also looking for a new guitarist, and upon learning of Ierace and his association with "The Rapper," he was recruited by frontman Rob Parissi.

The Jaggerz eventually broke up around 1977, but reunited in 1989 without Ierace, who by that point was well into his solo career.

After his departure from the Jaggerz, Ierace began to learn engineering at Jeree Recording in New Brighton, Pennsylvania.

Ierace went on the road with the group for about the next year and was featured on their 1979 album Only the Wild Survive.

He also achieved fame as a solo artist in the early 1980s with the #29 hit "Ah! Leah!" and the #37 hit "Love Is Like a Rock."

In addition to performing on the first three Jaggerz albums and the fourth and final Wild Cherry album, Iris with his solo band has released eleven studio albums, one EP, two live albums, and two compilation albums.

He continues to intermittently release new material and tour throughout the greater Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Cleveland areas.

Dominic Ierace was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.

The son of Samuel and Carrie Ierace, young Dominic learned to sing at an early age from his mother, who had sung in Curly Venezie's orchestra.

He practiced by singing along with his mother's favorite singers, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

Per his mother's encouragement, Ierace began singing at weddings at age five, and by eight was performing on local television and entering talent contests.

Over time, Ierace began to develop his own interests in music with the advent of rock music, drawing inspiration from Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly and later from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and even R&B and soul artists Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles in addition to other Motown acts.

The popularity of rock and roll inspired Ierace to become a self-taught guitarist.

When his voice changed around age 12, he gave up singing and took up the drums.