Donnie Iris, the Pittsburgh rock icon whose voice powered “Ah! Leah!” and “The Rapper,” has died at 83, according to a former bandmate. The news comes just weeks after Iris announced he was stepping away from live performances for good, closing out a career that stretched back more than five decades.
Long-time concert promoter Rich Engler and several reports confirmed Iris's death on Monday, according to WPXI. As CBS News Pittsburgh reported, Iris had been diagnosed with cancer shortly after his sold-out 80th birthday show in 2023.
A Cancer Diagnosis That Reshaped His Final Years
In June 2023, Iris canceled a Youngstown concert with REO Speedwagon after that cancer diagnosis, per the same WPXI account. He returned to the stage in March 2024 following chemotherapy, continuing to perform until his retirement announcement earlier in October.
His final performance took place on September 28, during the grand opening of Pittsburgh's newest concert venue, Citizens Live at The Wylie, according to a report from WTAE. On October 9, Iris posted a retirement letter to social media announcing he had made the difficult decision to retire from future concert performances.
In that letter, he said music had given him more than he could put into words, and that while he would no longer be performing live, the memories, the music, and the connections built with fans would always remain close to his heart, per WTAE's report.
From The Jaggerz To Solo Stardom
Iris's career began decades before Pittsburgh knew him as a solo star. In 1970, he earned a gold record for writing and singing the Jaggerz' hit “The Rapper,” which CBS News Pittsburgh described as a No. 1 song, though AllMusic's account describes it as a number-two hit, a discrepancy the two outlets do not reconcile.
Around 1978, Iris joined the band Wild Cherry, the same year he met Mark Avsec, the station's report notes. The pair went on to found Donnie Iris & The Cruisers, who recorded the album “Back On The Streets,” featuring the song that would define Iris's legacy: “Ah! Leah!”
Crowned The King Of Cool
A reviewer christened Iris the “new king of cool” after a 1980 show, inspiring the title of his follow-up album, “King Cool,” which included “Love Is Like A Rock,” “That's The Way Love Ought To Be” and “My Girl,” according to CBS News Pittsburgh. Per AllMusic, “Ah! Leah!” hit number 29 that year, while CBS News Pittsburgh separately reported that “Ah! Leah!” and “Love Is Like A Rock” reached 29th and 37th on the Billboard charts, respectively. AllMusic also notes that six additional second-rank singles charted during the five years that followed.
Donnie Iris & The Cruisers went on to tour with Journey, Loverboy, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett and Hall & Oates, cementing the band's place on the national arena circuit while remaining a hometown fixture in Pittsburgh. Sources differ on where Iris's story began: WPXI reported he was born in New Castle on February 28, 1943, while AllMusic identified him as Dominic Ierace, born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
