# Donnie Iris: the man of multiple one-hit wonders in the 1970s

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/donnie-iris-the-man-of-multiple-one-hit-wonders-in-the-1970s/
- Published: 2026-11-11T00:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T01:25:50+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/donnie-iris-multiple-one-hit-wonders-1970s/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Donnie Iris wrote a number two hit with The Jaggerz.
- He joined Wild Cherry after its number one hit.
- His own group scored several further chart successes.

## Summary

Donnie Iris’s career complicates the label “one-hit wonder”: he wrote a near chart-topper, later joined a band known for a number one, and scored hits with his own group. The story matters because his success came across several different musical settings, even though he remained little known nationally beyond those records.

Born Dominic Ierace in Pennsylvania in 1943, Iris wrote The Jaggerz’ “The Rapper”, which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. He joined Wild Cherry in 1978, after “Play That Funky Music” had hit number one, then formed Donnie Iris and the Cruisers with keyboardist Mark Avsec. Their 1980 song “Ah! Leah!” reached number 29, while “Love Is Like a Rock” and “My Girl” also made the American Top 40.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.