Thanks for the nice article about Donnie Iris (which I woke up to). I am his longtime partner, musical director, songwriter/producer, and keyboardist. My inbox is piling up. (After Donnie and I went through some litigation together, I went to law school to be an IP lawyer.)
The thing I am most proud of after all these years is that Donnie and I (and our longtime guitarist, Marty Lee, and other guys in the original group) are still best friends. We've been through a lot together. And we've been together for almost 50 years.
I still play keys with the band. And one of the joys of my life is watching the crowd watch Donnie. I've never seen such JOY on people's faces. It happens every time we play, and we're fortunate enough to be playing decent size venues, especially in Western Pa and Northeastern Ohio.
Donnie is going through his third course of chemotherapy. If the treatments drag him down, he does not show it. He still sings his butt off. Screams and everything. I don't think he has ever had so much fun on stage. Donnie always tells me he's having the time of his life. Same goes for me.
Thanks for honoring Donnie with your post.
Best,
Mark Avsec
Mark E. Avsec
Partner and Vice Chair, Intellectual Property Group
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
127 Public Square, Suite 4900 | Cleveland, Ohio 44114
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That sure looks like the great Joe Vitale Sr. on drums.
I say Sr. because there is a Joe Vitale Jr. who has been known to play with Dad.
Marc Avsec, the main and/or co-writer of the Donnie Iris catalogue, still plays with the band.
Bob, you may want to consider a podcast with Marc.
He and Donnie basically lost money on "Ah Leah."
That resulted in Marc becoming an intellectual property attorney.
He also teaches law classes about the music industry.
It is great to see Donnie Iris lining up yet another tour this year.
45 years ago, I was on the air in Cleveland.
I was handed a white-label, test pressing of an album and told to play side two, cut one.
It was the first of many, many radio plays for "Ah Leah."
Marty Bender
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hey Bob......King Cool is easily in my top 100 best rock albums of all time. my band opened for him in 1999 in Cleveland and it was quite an honor for me personally.....he's a great dude and so is Mark Avsec, who was very involved in the local Cleveland music scene back then. I'm not surprised whatsoever that Donnie is still rocking at 82!
Mike Farley
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It was 1980 and I was in sixth grade listening to 96 Rock WHNN in Detroit patiently waiting for this song to come on so I could record it on my Aiwa boom box as the first song on my mix tape.
Thanks for the memories.
Jeff Cramer
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I've loved music as long as I can remember, but when I first heard "Love Is Like A Rock" on The Loop FM98 in 1981 everything changed. A switch flipped. That 11-year-old went out and bought "King Cool" and played it about a thousand times without ever getting sick of it. Still haven't. One of the catchiest riffs ever with a huge sound that was both rock hard and doo-wop.
Puts a smile on my face too. Rock on Donnie, let 'em "never stop you!"
Matt Burnham
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The best song on the King Cool album is the title track, about a guy choosing between his girl and his guitar. "Between her and his guitar, it was push and shove" - it's one of the saddest and happiest songs ever at the same time!
Mike Blakesley
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Thanks for this. You nailed it by saying Ah Leah is a song you don't get tired of hearing. It still plays on local rock radio and I first heard it on Q107 in Toronto when it came out.
And The Rapper?
Back then Q had a homegrown contest with the winners getting their songs on a compilation album.
In '81 or '82…one of those tunes was a cover of The Rapper by Santers, aka the Rick Santers Band. They didn't make it big like many of us thought though Eddie Trunk knows them.
Rock on, Donnie!
John O'Mara,
Wasaga Beach, Ontario
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Bob, There were 2 great bands on MCA at that time from the Pittsburgh area, Donnie Iris and the Cruisers and the Iron City Houserockers, led by Joe Grushecky. Both came from the working class, beer joint world of steel mill land. The music was straight ahead Rock, so it translated. Donnie had a big hit while the Houserocker, backed by the legendary Steve Popovitch, ground it out in the streets more akin to being Pittsburgh's answer to Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger. Joey still plays and is close to the Boss, kindred spirits.
Donnie is a survivor and it was a great time to be the local MCA rep during their heydays.
Thanks for writing about Donnie.
Stephen Knill
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Bob, I was a college kid in Pittsburgh when I first heard Donnie Iris and I was hooked. It was one of those albums that I knew the timing of all of the song transitions by heart. You know what I mean, I know you do.
I also had the several follow ups on vinyl and still love to hear Ah Leah when it shows up in CVS or supermarket.
What a treasure of an artist. So glad to hear that he's still rocking.
Mark Fisher
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Donnie lives! He's been in my playlist for at least 55 years (Pittsburgh boy) - love that power pop. Lets' not forget a couple more old timers from da Burgh that are still going strong - Billy Price and Joe Grushecky. Rock on
Jim Egler
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Hello Bob,
In conjunction with your Donnie Iris post, here's a 1987 cover of "Love Is Like a Rock" by Slade from their
'You Boyz Make Big Noize' album youtu.be/dOUrqwLkzis
Stephen Marsh
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About 20 years ago, a friend of mine and I went on a cocktail cruise on the Allegheny (or the Monongahela or the Ohio-one of the three) River that featured Donnie as the entertainment. At first, I thought it was something of a joke ... Then he turned out to be amazing! The band was great ... If I'm not mistaken with te OG keyboardist & guitarist from the Cruisers.
That same buddy turned me onto the YouTube footage of his 80th birthday party from a couple of years ago and still ... Its f*cking Donnie Iris! and now you turn us all on to this clip! I found the "Ah Leah" clip from this show and he still wails on the outro! Man, I can only hope that in 15+ years, I can still rock like Donnie!
Thanks for this piece, man! The memories are rich!
Bob Reeves
Nashville, TN
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Terrific…The boy can still rock, and his band ain't so bad either… The audience loved him, and so did I!
Michael Abramson
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Love that song. Thank you for the clip. And thank you for the insight because one of my favorite songs growing up was "rap a rap a rap they call him the rapper. Rap rap rap you know what he's after..."
Plus I needed the smile after today's news
TY
julie coulter
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Donnie Iris is a Pittsburgh INSTITUTION!!! So many great tracks:) A YINZER tried and true:)
Ilan Fong
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Great to see you cover Beaver County's own Donnie Iris. He still plays a few shows a year in western Pennsylvania. He and Joe Grushecky are the rock royalty in the Pittsburgh area.
The funny thing is the Jaggerz are also still around and still have 2 of their 5 original members, Jimmie Ross and Benny Faiella, and frequently play in the area. I don't think Donnie has ever worked with them since he left, and the other 2 have passed on.
Dave Crookham
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Loved Loved Loved your piece on DI. ?? %
Watched both tiktoks and smiled, too. Not easy to do these days.
"Did your grandpa rock? I don't think so."
I've had this audio clip bookmarked for years and this is the perfect time to share it. WDVE's morning jocks did a series of skits making fun of the Pittsburgh regional accent, and not only is Donnie Iris a home boy but his name has the perfect vowels to accentuate it:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3xrNlelylQ
Long Live Donnie Iris!
starless
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Bob, I thought you did to me a gain : Donnie Iris.
I though had left us....but NO!
82, my just hit 89 in Jan and it showing.
Donnie Rockin it, Two Thumbs!!
Keep on Rockin in a Free World....
even thought it feels a little less free right now.
Rock and Roll will never die !!!!!!
Cheers
Mitch Nixon
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to coax him onstage to do 'Leah' but he said he wasn't dressed for it! I didn't know anything about him as I grew up in the UK where to my knowledge he never made a dent. But what a super, down to earth, all-round nice guy…..
And yes, still rocking.
Adam Howell
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Hi Bob -- I saw the subject line and thought "Oh no, not Donnie" and was relieved to see that you're giving him his due BEFORE he passes. "Ah! Leah!" is, in my opinion, the quintessential 80s Power Pop song. Rock on, Donnie!
-Thomas Britt
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Love that old dude!
Young Hutchinson
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i used to go see The Jaggerz at Geneva-On-The- Lake Ohio. I was a kid. I'd stand out on the street and listen. Killer band. Donnie Iris was the star. Killer renditions of The Temptations, Sly And The Family Stone not to mention The Rolling Stones.
Then there was Ah! Leah!
Donnie Iris was HUUGE in and around the Ohio/ Eastern Penn. area.
Badass guitar player with a million dollar voice. That boy ROKKED HARD!
I couldn't sing like him but I studied his songwriting.
Someone said "good is the enemy of great."
Donnie was great.
Glad to see he is still doin it.
Bob DiPiero
Nashville tennessee
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Ah Leah is one of those tracks that you can never nor would you want to ever get away from, like the Smithereens "a girl like you."
I tell bands wanting to make it they should cover one or the other (both) of these tunes because they are perfect songs that never got their due.
Danny Zelisko
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Dear Bob,
I did not hear about Donnie Iris until about 15 years ago.
I first heard "Ah Leah!" on 100.7 Jack FM in San Diego.
I thought "What an amazing song! It had to be from the 80s...but I never heard it before".
I graduated from high school in '89 and I thought I knew all the 80s music.
I played it for my music aficionado friend who is 9 years older than me...and he had never heard it either.
(We both grew up in suburban San Diego)
I don't understand how this excellent song wasn't a national hit and is not a staple of classic rock radio.
David Evans
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You just put a smile on MY face, Bob.
I've been putting together a huge playlist from my younger years, and….well, how the f*** could I have forgotten Donnie Iris??
But never you worry….now the chorus of "Ah Leah" (and those amazing vocal harmonies) is stuck in my brain again. For the first time in 40 years. And probably for the foreseeable future.
Thank you.
Pete Kehoe
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Donnie Iris is an American treasure. Watching newer clips of him playing live are just mind-blowing. Some of the notes he can hit at his age put musicians half as young to shame. Watch his extended intro to "Ah Leah" for proof.
Speaking of shame, that's exactly what it is that he never got bigger. He's kind of like Michael Stanley in that way, who was huge in the Heartland and pretty much his home state's equivalent of Springsteen, but always on the periphery in terms of national recognition. And only Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick could possibly beat Donnie for a quirky/nerdy stage persona, which I'm sure didn't help with MTV.
But the songs! "Do You Compute" is another one that should've been a smash when it was released as a single. The chorus of that song has a hook so strong, you can't get it out of your head for days.
You never disappoint, Bob. Especially when it comes to reminding people of artists that they had forgotten or maybe never picked up on in the first place. I encourage everyone to check out some of the live clips on YouTube. Donnie may be 82, but his rock and roll heart is clearly 28.
Dan Olivadoti
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Hadn't thought about Donnie in years but his legacy of rock means something to me , makes me smile and boy do I need that now.
Gerry Lauderdale
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I very much enjoy your emails . . . no matter what the subject matter!
Regarding Donnie Iris, I was in college in Virginia when his solo career took off (I'm from Pittsburgh so I took some pride in the success of the "local boy"). In addition to the great songs you mentioned, I also loved "My Girl" which was his biggest hit (on the Hot 100, that is). But he had two noncharting singles that are pretty much totally obscure yet quite spectacular: "You're Only Dreaming" (from "Back On The Streets") and "This Time It Must Be Love" (from "The High And The Mighty") -- if you still have some Donnie-time left in you, revisit those tracks.
To me, one of the keys of a great artist is that each of their songs sounds unique BUT you immediately know exactly who you are listening to when one of their songs is played.
Today, in the mainstream, it's all about five or six "sounds" and all artists within their respective "sound", are almost indistinguishable from each other.
Thanks again for giving us regular access to your thoughts!
Walter Janaro
Front Royal, Virginia
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Hi Bob,
I love Donnie Iris. I think I lost track of him after Fortune 410 - Donnie Iris (1983), but I loved his energy, and his stuff was always easy to sing along with.
It was great high energy Rock.
Bill live from MN.
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Great songs, quintessentially 80's. I would've been twelve around the time of his solo discs, which somehow got ignored by radio in the Bay Area when I was growing up. Mostly new to me, though I do faintly recall hearing "Ah! Leah!" like a distant memory. I detect a strong Queen influence - from the thick guitar tone to the big choruses with harmonized background vocals. He seems to acknowledge as much in the last minute of "Love is Like a Rock" with a guitar riff that is basically quoting "We Will Rock You" (and next to the chorus "Love Can Rock You" in similar chant vocal style, it's obvious) - credit for acknowledging an influence and having a sense of humor.
His recent clip is inspiring and emblematic of the term "aging goals." Thanks for turning us on to him (those of us who missed him the first time around).
Alex Skolnick
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Do you know who else was born in New Castle? Me. Donnie is still huge in western PA.
Harold Love
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Bob, SWEET MERILEE! WOW! I have never heard this, but I LOVE IT!
It's a natural for CHICAGO, Today! They should record it. Call them. With REAL CHICAGO HORNS, and They're HARMONIES…BAM!! COULD BE THE SONG of SUMMER OF 2025! Just think Mr. Iris at 82 could have a hit in 2025.
Olie Kornelsen
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Wild Cherry guitarist Bryan Bassett - the guy who laid down the licks on "Play That Funky Music" - toured and recorded with Molly Hatchet throughout the 90's. He left Hatchet in '99 and has been with Foghat ever since. He was an adjunct professor at Daytona State for years.
Vince Welsh
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Damn, you're always coming up with some crazy sh*t. I grew up on Philly soul/radio, home of so much amazing soul music. Occasionally there were a bunch of legit "blue eyed soul" groups from Philly like The Temptones (Daryl Hall's first group) and The Soul Survivors (Expressway to Your Heart) and the Pittsburgh area had The Jaggerz (on Gamble Records—Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's label before Philadelphia International) and The Magnificent Men—all these groups were played heavily on black radio there.
Thanks for keeping this old sh*t alive. Kudos.
Best,
Dennis Page
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Thank you for sending this. I always wondered what ever happened to Donnie as I was a huge fan in the late 70's. Remember seeing him with The Romantics and UFO. Lol. They don't Tour like that anymore….
Bob Hathaway
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Enjoyed the trip down memory lane about Donnie Iris. In 1985, I was working for a Pop radio station in Northern Ontario and we were spinning Ah Leah, Love Is Like a Rock and Glad All Over. It's great to hear he is still alive and rockin.
Thanks for sharing!
Duane Duck
Listowel, Ontario
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Thanks for the shout out to local stars
Jaggerz.
I used to see their van driving around Warren Ohio back in the day. It was a chevy corvair van, not one on the best.
I am 72, pushing 73 in August and I am still playing. moving the gear is the biggest setback,. but once we start playing, it all goes away.
Dale Janus
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Hey Bob
This is so awesome,thanks for sharing.
Like a lot of our generation I haven't let go of any of my record collection, and I'm sitting here looking at my copy of Donnie's "Fortune 410" of which I can unfortunately only find 2 tracks on streaming.
I'll give it a spin sometime today and whilst I realise I may not remember it as fondly as I did back in 1983, it will still bring back great memories.
Thanks again
Cheers
Dave Thompson
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Bob, I cannot tell you how much your email just made me smile! I was a very young teenager when Ah! Leah! came out but
it was an instant favorite of mine (as a young aspiring rock drummer at the time). Every time I have heard it over the years, it always made me blast the car radio and sing along at the top of my lungs!
But I will be honest, I didn't keep up with whatever happened to Donnie Iris kind of thing and now, thanks to you, I found out.
I will now go down the YouTube rabbit hole for sure.
Thanks Bob
Cheryl Prashker
Artistic Director Goderich Celtic Roots Festival
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Great story Bob. I never did see him even though in Cleveland he plays a lot and he just played here but I never got a chance to see him. Straight to give Midwest music it's due. Eric Carmen The raspberries Michael Stanley a lot of great groups and good music came out of this area. And even though Donnie Iris was from Pittsburgh he was considered a adoptive clevelander.
Rob Barrish
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Donnie Iris is an absolute icon in Pittsburgh, as I learned when I visited there for the first time in my 50s.
Tycho Manson
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youtu.be/-z5wnkEh21U?t=275
Mark Balletto
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It's interesting how TikTok works. You and I have similar feeds in the sense that we were both hit with the same heritage artists around the same time. Donnie Iris this week and Molly Hatchet a couple weeks back. You got "Dreams" and I got "Bounty Hunter." Same show. The look of pure joy on Donnie's 82-year-old face is priceless. I guess the moral of the story is keep doing what you love.
Niels Schroeter
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Bob—I had to write back to you on this one.
I'm a copyright attorney—specialized in music. I'm a musician and had to continue my passions. The writer and keys player from Donnie Iris is my boss—the renowned and everlasting Mark Avsec. You two should know each other. He's a music copyright attorney now too.
He wrote Ah! Leah! and so many of these songs with Donnie. He and Donnie are life long best friends. They met in Wild Cherry.
We've followed you for many years. Mark teaches a Copyright in the Music Industry course in law school, and I was his student many moons ago. You were part of his essentials list to get up to speed.
I'm not a rocker by training, so Mark brings me to their shows, so I can learn every aspect of the industry. Donnie and Mark are as genuine as it gets—the whole band is. Their shows are always sold out.
We'd love to host you if you're ever in Pittsburgh or Cleveland.
Lidia Mowad
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I grew up near Pittsburgh, the music scene in those days was great. Donnie Iris, The Iron City House Rockers, BE Taylor and The Silencers stood out. I had Back On The Streets and my boss at the time asked me if that was the same Donnie Iris that was in the Jaggerz, so I checked them out as well.
Michael Kimball
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"Ah, Leah" may be the most rock and roll video ever made.
That rug! Those teeth! That skinny guy with the hairy chest!
But despite all that, it's beyond great. It's the personification of it all.
I'm not kidding! THAT is rock and roll!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh5kuxnDUc8
Richard Pachter
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"Love Is Like a Rock" cut through a lot of the noise in the early 80s. It was a breath fo fresh air for sure. Glad to see he is still around.
Dave Richards
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My favorite cut off of King Cool is My Girl. Don't know if it's true, but I heard it was about his dog... Bart
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November 1981 - Athens, Ohio…..My very first, all-by-myself show as Pop Concert Chairman at Ohio U (Bobcats!!).
I buy the King for $4,000 from Andy Waters at ATI cuz I need a show for Fall Quarter and my offer for Steve Landesberg went in the sh*tter because no one but Steve realized it was Yom Kippur.
Completely stiffs. I've been left w a $12,000 kitty because we're a self-promoting, non-funded committee. Show loses $7,200 or something.
I'm crushed.
I write letters to ATI, the manager Mike Belkin, copy who knows who in the college brass and plead my case. WTF, this and that, you added a show in Columbus, just high on my soapbox.
Nothing and of course, no answered phone calls, especially when I continually called Mike Belkin.
Phone rings one morning at my house about 10:30am. "Bob... Jules Belkin" in the raspy voice I cherished hearing always trying to get Belkin to promote shows at OU. Jules proceeds to give me a lesson in the Chain of Command Promoter-Agent-Manager. God bless him. Learned more from the loser than I ever would and here I am still standing just fine. And I was too green tocut the catering
But re Ah! Leah!…..of course he rocked, of course The Rapper is legendary.
405 paid people in a 2,500 seater had a night.
Barry, Michael Jr and Stacie applaud the Octogenarian whenever he pops up and we share the now and back-then.
Bob Cayne
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NEVER FORGET:
Up until his death, Michael Stanley was STILL the rock god of Cleveland. God! Period, full stop.
Ironic the man whose "Midwest Midnight" radio homage cir du couer'd, "Does the man still play all the hits that you wanna hear?" ended up doing afternoon drive on classic rock WNCX.
But when Michael decamped -- one of the amphitheaters down on the Cuyahoga River in the Flats (same one Dylan played one summer) -- the faithful turned out, rocked out, arms in the air and voices raw from screaming the choruses. They didn't care he didn't become John Mellencamp or Bruce Springsteen. He was theirs -- and damn it, that straining against the yoke to make it was respected. Ditto his four more acoustic night stands at the vintage Tangiers Supper Club in Akron and his New Year's Eve/holiday shows at the House of Blues.
Mike Belkin managed him. Donnie Iris, too, for a while. Because Rust Belt hearts beat strong for their own. You can hear that angst-strewn passion in "Ah Leah" so hard, it almost embarasses you. Donnie Iris wasn't cool, didn't care, he wanted you to know what he wanted. Michael Stanley, too, sweltered in the desire of trying to get there.
This Tik Tok makes me smile. Of course Donnie Iris, mortgage broker, strapped it on and was having a ball. Why not? He was doing it for love and grit, not fame and money. It's why people in the flyover are different -- and people on the coasts just don't get them.
Thanks for giving the second best Buddy Holly glasses wearing rocker his due!
Holly Gleason
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I met a gorgeous girl at Burning Man and when I asked her name she said, "Alia."
I said, "That sounds like the song, were your parents Donnie Iris fans?"
"Yes, and you're the only person I've ever met who got that," she replied.
I told her that my older brother took my younger brother and I to see Donnie when it was Little Siblings day at Bowling Green State University around 1984. My first time partying on a college campus. They had us drinking "hairy buffalo," which was like Hawaiian Punch with vodka, and then we went and watched Donnie rock. Hazy, but unforgettable. Made me want to rock.
Thanks for the share,
Jimmy Leslie
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