Vinyl Junkie #7 - "Ah! Leah!"

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The other night I was stoned to the bejeezus belt when out of nowhere, "Ah! Leah!" by Donnie Iris and the Cruisers popped into my head, followed by "Hey! I need to own a copy of that!" And it arrived in the mail today. Looking somewhere in between a modern day Buddy Holly and a hipper, new wave Bill Nye, Donnie Iris is the pride and joy of New Castle, Pennsylvania. In 1970, as a member of The Jaggerz, Iris wrote their #2 Billboard Hot 100 hit, "The Rapper," he had a post-"Play that Funky Music" stint in Wild Cherry, and had a string of underappreciated singles as a solo act, such as "Love is like a Rock" and "My Girl." Donnie Iris is best known, however, for his hard rocking 1980 hit, "Ah! Leah!" (#29 Hot 100, #19 Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and a Top 10 hit in Canada.) And as I rebuild my vinyl collection, it's the first 45. Because it totally kicks ass. And as a bonus, "Joking," the B-Side, finds our hero in a new wave state of mind and is a treat in itself. Ah! Donnie! (Info verified by Wikipedia)