His follow-up hit, “Love Is Like A Rock”, was another ‘banger’, and he got his start with The Jaggerz, having written their only hit, 1970’s “The Rapper” - check ‘em both out!✌️
Donnie Iris still performs in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He’s around 80 and still sounds great. He puts on a great show every time. He laughs because he’s claimed to be the best screamer in rock history.
definetly not a 1 hit wonder. Donnie is local hero around Pittsburgh! still out there rocking today, & he can still hit those notes in his early 80s! Lots of awesome songs!
Your comment on the sound having a bit of funk vibe…spot on considering Donnie Iris’ previous group “Wild Cherry” was another 1- Hit Wonder with their song “Play that Funky Music”
As a lifelong Pittsburgher, this song got a TON of airplay back in the day. I was in high school when this came out, and hearing it took me right back there. Great tune… he also had a couple of other songs that were popular locally - Love Is Like A Rock, I Can’t Hear You and Sweet Merilee.
Being in high school when this came out, its one of the few songs when it comes on the radio I still turn up, not turn off after 44 years of hearing it.
This is one of those songs local radio didn't play enough. I lost it for a few decades and RUclips brought it back into my life. It's a great song capturing the sound of the time period. I hope the guys do "Sweethearts" by Frank E and the Knockouts as one of their one hit wonder choices!
Agreed! A cross eyed lead singer with a porn-stache.., in the 80s!!! WTH? But, he sings the heck out of that song and the harmonies and the keyboard solo and the .., oh man, I hope they do that one!@@JustOncexxx
Donnie just turned 81 ! Always loved this song, something about it . A doo wop singer that evolved to rb, pop to a rocker. Donnie it seems has battled some health issues recently but just announced a March show after saying the the scans are clear ! Awesome news Donnie.
Donnie just turned 81 on Saturday. I’m in Pittsburgh, and will be seeing him in concert on March 16. Still rocking! Haven’t seen him since the early 90’s, excited to see him again.
they had 2 more great songs: "Love is like a rock" and esp. "That's they way love oughta be" which I believe was on the radio. they do cool things with their songs!
I love this song. It's a banger!!! I remember when it came out and hearing it on the radio many, many times! Lots of good times and memories listening to this. GREAT Reaction Guys!
I’ve seen Donnie Iris at least five times. He was always an opening act for the Michael Stanley Band, another band you really should check out. Donnie Iris had another pretty big hit here in Cleveland titled Love Is Like A Rock.
I still love listening to MSB. I grew up in Youngstown so I was influenced by both Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Of course Michael Stanley band had a Youngstown connection. Agree, would love to hear a reaction to their stuff too.
ruclips.net/video/ulpQsZFMhwM/видео.htmlsi=eR_RdML3AdDM6gMW ruclips.net/video/QHr6rcoUHwU/видео.htmlsi=sg9inxewGgLp7wxN This is an absolutely brilliant post! I didn't make the connection, but the glasses for each definitely sells it. Of all the great characters ("Mel" from "Mel's Rockpile" teen dance show and comedian "Bobby Bittman," among many others) that Eugene Levy played on SCTV (and shows his resemblance to Donnie Iris), my favorite is the news anchor "Earl Camembert." The first link above is to a hilarious sketch called "One On The Town" where "Earl" does a segment on "the future of urban transit," where he predicts people no longer using cars in major cities "soon." However, my favorite moments are the "SCTV News" sketches where "Earl" and co-anchor "Floyd Robertson" (played by the equally terrific comedian/actor Joe Flaherty) not only report on the news around "Melonville," their local municipality, but find different ways to press each other's buttons in every sketch. The second link above is for a sketch where "Earl" tries to take a "bright side" view of some unfortunate news stories, much to "Floyd's" chagrin and frustration. 😂 Thanks again for the connection. Too good!
While I realize this song seemed to get a lot of support from viewers on the poll community board, the poster that had continually put up regular messages on random videos about the guys doing a reaction to this song must finally feel that "the mission has been accomplished." The persistance has finally paid off. Congratulations to that poster. 🎉 I also love the fact that the guys chose that song to lead off the "one hit wonder" March marathon. 😂 I think this might be an especially entertaining 31 days on the channel. 😀
Thanks for the reply, Rachel. You can just see the joy on the guys' faces from the screen shot for the video. We may all need to buckle up and put our tray tables in the upright position for this flight ✈️ 😂
Thanks for the reply. I guess it all depends on what a person considers a hit. As others have posted, it looks like "Love Is Like a Rock" peaked at #37 on the American pop charts and "Ah! Leah!" reached #29. So, could it be the old saying "6 of 1, half a dozen of the other" with those two songs? The most important result is that the viewers' demand for a reaction of "Ah! Leah!" has been met. Given all the folks that have brought up "Love Is Like A Rock" as another hit, I'm proactively nominating Donnie Iris and "Love Is Like A Rock" for the "Two Hit Wonder" marathon month. 😂
I used to be able to hit those high screams when I was a 20-something in the 80s. We'd be driving along with this song on and I'd scream it out and look at my friends' face in shock.
Donnie is still performing live. Check out some of the videos of "Ah! Leah!" he's done during the 2010's. He starts out with a really slowed down bluesy version, and you think _"Yeah, sure, the guy is in his 70's so he had to slow it down"._ And that slow version does sound excellent. But then he starts to pump up the energy and the speed, and it starts over into being this hard-rocking version, and it is *excellent.* In some of those you really think he's pouring so much energy into those final "Ah Leah!"s that you think he's figuring that he's pouring ever last bit of energy into it.
I always thought they said, "But, I need you" not "Ah! Leah!" But, I always thought that the song by Billy Squire, "The Stroke" he said "Snowman, Snowman" not "stroke me, stroke me" this is the reason I lose at Songburst .. or song trivia..I always mess up lyrics!!! You guys rock.. happy to follow the 502! I am shocked he is from the Wild Cherry.. their song is still the best one-hit-wonder from the 70's.. .. keep up posting and I will keep on following- great posts-
If you guys ever come back to Fleetwood Mac, can you PLEASE do “Hypnotized”? It came out in ‘73 before Buckingham and Nicks joined the group. This was played alot on classic rock stations. I think you guys will love it!
Donnie also had a similar song that received some MTV airplay called "Do You Compute". I would think his biggest hit would have been "Love is Like a Rock" which was in regular rotation on MTV. Ah Leah was always my favorite by him. Enjoy!
Another great singer you have to check out is Benny Mardones (pronounced Mar-doe-ness) and his hit song "Into The Night" from his "Never Run Never Hide" LP/CD. Benny's two other really good songs that people don't know about and will like are "Too Young" and "She's So French," both of which should've been hit radio tunes. Enjoy!
"Ah! Leah!" is a song by Mark Avsec and American rock musician Donnie Iris from the latter's 1980 album Back on the Streets. The song has been described as Iris's signature song, as well the unofficial anthem of the city of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania as a whole. In 1981, Mark Alton, a part-time songwriter from Detroit, claimed that the chorus of "Ah! Leah" was nearly identical to his song "Here I Go Again" and filed a $2 million lawsuit for copyright infringement. Alton claimed he gave a representative of MCA Records, Rodney Linnum, a demo tape of his song approximately eight months before "Ah! Leah!" was released. Linnum disputed the possibility that Iris and Avsec could have heard Alton's demo tape as Iris' debut album Back on the Streets, which included "Ah! Leah!", was recorded for and originally released by Midwest Records, before the band signed to MCA. Iris and Avsec denied Alton's claims and, after they protested their innocence and refused to settle, the case went to a jury trial which cleared them of any infringement. Although they won their case, Iris and Avsec lost the royalties they gained from the song in attorneys' fees, amounting to approximately $120,000. The lawsuit inspired Avsec to embark on a career as an intellectual property attorney in the 1990s and he graduated from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1994.
This song is Rock! It’s not some dreamy weepy homage to love, it’s about two people who know they’re wrong for each other, but absolutely need to bump uglies. It’s about pure lust in the dust. Power chords, hooks, screaming lead over the top, a thumping baseline and add a primal scream at the end. Rock music at its raw purest.
He lives about 30 miles from me. We see him around sometime. He still performs. If you can get a hold of his song called The Rapper when he played with the Jaggers. Great song.
Another One Hit Wonder is the song VEHICLE by Ides of March. Fantastic horns. Many of the group reformed later as Survivor and had the hit from Rocky 3 called Eye of the Tiger
Check out his live versions of this song, especially some of the really recent ones. His voice has changed with age, but he still sounds great and can hit the high notes. What an awesome artist. Enjoy!
For those that may be interested, a western Pennsylvania newspaper did an investigative piece in the early 2000s to identify the "Leah" that was the inspiration for the song's title. According to The Beaver County Times, the song was called "Ah! Leah!" for a woman named Leah Frankford, even though the song was not specifically about her. Apparently, Frankford dated the drummer of Iris' group The Jaggerz in the late 1960s and the first name of his bandmate's girlfriend stuck in Iris' head over the years. In a twist, newspaper reporter Scott Tady wrote that it was not until the late 1990s that Iris and Frankford caught up with each other after many years. Apparently, Iris was running a business at the time and his girlfriend, who was in the same field, became friends with another woman in that same field. The friend of Iris' girlfriend just happened to have a mother named "Leah" and the connection was made. As per Tady's article, "Leah" is known as one of the more popular girl's names in that region since Iris' song came out. Well, friends. If that was the first reaction for the "one hit wonder" marathon, we may all want to get our drinks and snacks now for the musical journey ahead before the next song is posted. 😂
This song as well as Love is like a Rock were awesome. Roller skating to those two songs back in the early 80's, my GF at the time had a friend who's name was Leah and I always would sing this to her. Love your music selection the last few months. Can't beat the 70's music. Love is Like a Rock hit #37 in the American Top 40, so technically not a 1 hit wonder.
Got to see him live twice. He played small clubs which was really cool. Got to see a few acts in small clubs. It always hits differently in a small club.
Dang, I do know this. Only by the chorus the "here we go again". I was a kid - it immediately brought me to my neighborhood, playing outside - someone always had a radio outside as we played. You say it sounds like Queen. Musically I would agree. But it sounds like a typical early 80's power ballad. (The harmonies) Great song anyway you hear it!
Love is Like a Rock is SO good, and so is I Can't Hear You. Another one is Do You Compute, but it didn't age well. lol Still, it really shows off how good his voice is.
Without fail, this song ALWAYS made me crank up the radio when it came on.
Everytime. Singing loudly.
Me too! One of my favorite songs ever
EASILY one of the best of the 1980s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is one of the first music videos I ever saw on MTV. The early 80s MTV was so fun.
He STILL screams like that lol. Donnie is a beast.
His follow-up hit, “Love Is Like A Rock”, was another ‘banger’, and he got his start with The Jaggerz, having written their only hit, 1970’s “The Rapper” - check ‘em both out!✌️
MSB
Do you Compute? Was a hit that got alot of airplay for awhile too. So he's definitely not a one hit wonder.
Donnie Iris still performs in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He’s around 80 and still sounds great. He puts on a great show every time. He laughs because he’s claimed to be the best screamer in rock history.
81
MSB
Hurts my mind. Dude made great music, but now rock a rocking chair, a tree house, a hammock, idk
Saw Donnie not too long ago. Still rockin
Luck o the iris next Saturday baby!
Saw Donnie for his 80th Birthday concert and it was great. He could still scream with the best of them. At FRIGGIN' 80 YRS young!!!
Donnie is from Ellwood City PA, my hometown. Donnie is not only a talented musician, but is a really awesome person
Fricken guy could still do that scream spot on well into his 70s
He's 81.
He's got some great pipes, and this is an absolute banger.
definetly not a 1 hit wonder. Donnie is local hero around Pittsburgh! still out there rocking today, & he can still hit those notes in his early 80s! Lots of awesome songs!
After my friend Leah passed away last year… this song made me uncomfortable and sad.
but now!!!
I embrace the song and celebrate her life!!
Donnie Iris, King Cool
This was a big hit when it came out and played heavily on MTV.
Holy cr@p I've not heard this song in 40 years. Awesome!
Donnie is Famous for his AMAZING falsetto range!!!
Saw him play this in 1981 at market square arena Indianapolis. Donnie Iris, April Wine and Nazareth. Great concert, Donnie sounded exactly like this.
I saw Nazareth with April Wine, but not with Donnie, at the Johnstown War Memorial, back in 1981.
Market Square Arena! My 16th birthday concert ❤😂
Your comment on the sound having a bit of funk vibe…spot on considering Donnie Iris’ previous group “Wild Cherry” was another 1- Hit Wonder with their song “Play that Funky Music”
This was my suggestion for the 1 hit wonder list 😂
He joined Wild Cherry after Play that funky.. he has nothing to do with the writing or recording of the record
I’ve seen Donnie Iris several times. Still hits all the notes at 81 years old! Going to see him again this year in Pittsburgh around St Patrick’s Day
Man I really want to go to that as well and it’s at old Bobby Mo we’re moving up in the world! Hahaha
As a lifelong Pittsburgher, this song got a TON of airplay back in the day. I was in high school when this came out, and hearing it took me right back there. Great tune… he also had a couple of other songs that were popular locally - Love Is Like A Rock, I Can’t Hear You and Sweet Merilee.
Those notes Donny hits at the end of the song are insane. Great tune.
Love is Like a Rock is a fun one by him.
Now you have to do Wild Cherry 'play that funky music' Donny Iris was their last singer
But Donnie didn't sing the lead on that song.
Being in high school when this came out, its one of the few songs when it comes on the radio I still turn up, not turn off after 44 years of hearing it.
Thanks for reacting to the Pittsburgh legend Donny Iris. Amazing song. Thanks guys!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I love you both for listening and recognizing the musical genius that is DONNIE IRIS. 🙌🏼😁♥️
Never tired of this song, it's been on my playlist for too many years for me to math right now. Decades.
Another great one hit wonder was Fantasy by Aldo Nova, about the same time frame as Ah Leah.
I've always loved this song!!!
This is one of those songs local radio didn't play enough. I lost it for a few decades and RUclips brought it back into my life. It's a great song capturing the sound of the time period. I hope the guys do "Sweethearts" by Frank E and the Knockouts as one of their one hit wonder choices!
Agreed! A cross eyed lead singer with a porn-stache.., in the 80s!!! WTH? But, he sings the heck out of that song and the harmonies and the keyboard solo and the .., oh man, I hope they do that one!@@JustOncexxx
Excellent choice. 😎
Donnie just turned 81 ! Always loved this song, something about it . A doo wop singer that evolved to rb, pop to a rocker. Donnie it seems has battled some health issues recently but just announced a March show after saying the the scans are clear ! Awesome news Donnie.
Donnie just turned 81 on Saturday. I’m in Pittsburgh, and will be seeing him in concert on March 16. Still rocking! Haven’t seen him since the early 90’s, excited to see him again.
Good jam yeah, I remember him on the radio playing 📻👌😀🤘🎤
Pittsburgh is my hometown. Hangout in the 80’s for teens from my neck of the woods was South Park, PA. Donny performed there in 2011.
they had 2 more great songs: "Love is like a rock" and esp. "That's they way love oughta be" which I believe was on the radio. they do cool things with their songs!
King of Wishful Thinking by Go West! Great horn section!
One hit wonder suggestion, Head East and their song… Never been any reason. If you guys liked this one, you’ll love this one!
I love this song. It's a banger!!!
I remember when it came out and hearing it on the radio many, many times!
Lots of good times and memories listening to this.
GREAT Reaction Guys!
I’ve seen Donnie Iris at least five times. He was always an opening act for the Michael Stanley Band, another band you really should check out. Donnie Iris had another pretty big hit here in Cleveland titled Love Is Like A Rock.
Michael Stanley Band - "He Can't Love You" Great recall! I hope they review that one too.
I still love listening to MSB. I grew up in Youngstown so I was influenced by both Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Of course Michael Stanley band had a Youngstown connection. Agree, would love to hear a reaction to their stuff too.
My man, Donnie Iris. Getting ready to see him live on March 16 at Robert Morris University. Followed this guy since the late '60's.
I always thought Donnie looked just like a character Eugene Levy was playing.
ruclips.net/video/ulpQsZFMhwM/видео.htmlsi=eR_RdML3AdDM6gMW
ruclips.net/video/QHr6rcoUHwU/видео.htmlsi=sg9inxewGgLp7wxN
This is an absolutely brilliant post! I didn't make the connection, but the glasses for each definitely sells it. Of all the great characters ("Mel" from "Mel's Rockpile" teen dance show and comedian "Bobby Bittman," among many others) that Eugene Levy played on SCTV (and shows his resemblance to Donnie Iris), my favorite is the news anchor "Earl Camembert." The first link above is to a hilarious sketch called "One On The Town" where "Earl" does a segment on "the future of urban transit," where he predicts people no longer using cars in major cities "soon." However, my favorite moments are the "SCTV News" sketches where "Earl" and co-anchor "Floyd Robertson" (played by the equally terrific comedian/actor Joe Flaherty) not only report on the news around "Melonville," their local municipality, but find different ways to press each other's buttons in every sketch. The second link above is for a sketch where "Earl" tries to take a "bright side" view of some unfortunate news stories, much to "Floyd's" chagrin and frustration. 😂 Thanks again for the connection. Too good!
David Byrne’s and Eugene Levy’s love child :)
While I realize this song seemed to get a lot of support from viewers on the poll community board, the poster that had continually put up regular messages on random videos about the guys doing a reaction to this song must finally feel that "the mission has been accomplished." The persistance has finally paid off. Congratulations to that poster. 🎉 I also love the fact that the guys chose that song to lead off the "one hit wonder" March marathon. 😂 I think this might be an especially entertaining 31 days on the channel. 😀
Same. My first thought on seeing this was, “I bet that one guy is happy” lol
Thanks for the reply, Rachel. You can just see the joy on the guys' faces from the screen shot for the video. We may all need to buckle up and put our tray tables in the upright position for this flight ✈️ 😂
I'm not quite sure this is a one
hit wonder. What about Love Is Like A Rock?
Thanks for the reply. I guess it all depends on what a person considers a hit. As others have posted, it looks like "Love Is Like a Rock" peaked at #37 on the American pop charts and "Ah! Leah!" reached #29. So, could it be the old saying "6 of 1, half a dozen of the other" with those two songs? The most important result is that the viewers' demand for a reaction of "Ah! Leah!" has been met. Given all the folks that have brought up "Love Is Like A Rock" as another hit, I'm proactively nominating Donnie Iris and "Love Is Like A Rock" for the "Two Hit Wonder" marathon month. 😂
@paulrogers4483 Well, they did say if an artist had a 2nd hit, but the first one completely overshadowed the 2nd one, then it counts
Nasty guitar tone in that solo!!!
I used to be able to hit those high screams when I was a 20-something in the 80s. We'd be driving along with this song on and I'd scream it out and look at my friends' face in shock.
Donnie is still performing live. Check out some of the videos of "Ah! Leah!" he's done during the 2010's. He starts out with a really slowed down bluesy version, and you think _"Yeah, sure, the guy is in his 70's so he had to slow it down"._ And that slow version does sound excellent. But then he starts to pump up the energy and the speed, and it starts over into being this hard-rocking version, and it is *excellent.* In some of those you really think he's pouring so much energy into those final "Ah Leah!"s that you think he's figuring that he's pouring ever last bit of energy into it.
Hes still rocking to!
Classic old tune...thanks to reacting!
Born raised still live in the Burgh. Donnie is 80 & still performs. He’s great!
I always thought they said, "But, I need you" not "Ah! Leah!" But, I always thought that the song by Billy Squire, "The Stroke" he said "Snowman, Snowman" not "stroke me, stroke me" this is the reason I lose at Songburst .. or song trivia..I always mess up lyrics!!! You guys rock.. happy to follow the 502! I am shocked he is from the Wild Cherry.. their song is still the best one-hit-wonder from the 70's.. .. keep up posting and I will keep on following- great posts-
Donnie Iris is actually a really good musician. Lots of good stuff here from him. Well worth looking at this well of music
Give "Little Black Dress" a go. It's a mid 2000 song that really cooks
If you guys ever come back to Fleetwood Mac, can you PLEASE do “Hypnotized”? It came out in ‘73 before Buckingham and Nicks joined the group. This was played alot on classic rock stations. I think you guys will love it!
I have been requesting Hypnotized from 5 or 6 different reaction channels, only one of them have played it, and they LOVED it, just like we do!!
Hypnotized is Fleetwood Macs BEST song!
When you get around to it….Love Is Like A Rock is a good song by him! Roller skating music 🎶
great smiles guys..altho hard to not smile when hearing this song....
Nik Kershaw "Wouldn't it be good" is a full on 80's techno-pop hit!
Donnie also had a similar song that received some MTV airplay called "Do You Compute". I would think his biggest hit would have been "Love is Like a Rock" which was in regular rotation on MTV. Ah Leah was always my favorite by him. Enjoy!
Don't forget Donnie's song "Agnes."
Yes, do you compute is a really good song
Love is Like a Rock from Donnie Iris is worth a listen
Another great singer you have to check out is Benny Mardones (pronounced Mar-doe-ness) and his hit song "Into The Night" from his "Never Run Never Hide" LP/CD. Benny's two other really good songs that people don't know about and will like are "Too Young" and "She's So French," both of which should've been hit radio tunes.
Enjoy!
Love Is Like A Rock! Is another badass cut from Donnie. That said, Ah! Leah! is one of the greatest ever!!!
"Ah! Leah!" is a song by Mark Avsec and American rock musician Donnie Iris from the latter's 1980 album Back on the Streets. The song has been described as Iris's signature song, as well the unofficial anthem of the city of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania as a whole. In 1981, Mark Alton, a part-time songwriter from Detroit, claimed that the chorus of "Ah! Leah" was nearly identical to his song "Here I Go Again" and filed a $2 million lawsuit for copyright infringement. Alton claimed he gave a representative of MCA Records, Rodney Linnum, a demo tape of his song approximately eight months before "Ah! Leah!" was released. Linnum disputed the possibility that Iris and Avsec could have heard Alton's demo tape as Iris' debut album Back on the Streets, which included "Ah! Leah!", was recorded for and originally released by Midwest Records, before the band signed to MCA. Iris and Avsec denied Alton's claims and, after they protested their innocence and refused to settle, the case went to a jury trial which cleared them of any infringement. Although they won their case, Iris and Avsec lost the royalties they gained from the song in attorneys' fees, amounting to approximately $120,000. The lawsuit inspired Avsec to embark on a career as an intellectual property attorney in the 1990s and he graduated from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1994.
The guitar solo, as brief as it is, is fire 🔥!
Great reaction guys!✌️
Just a perfect 80's banger! Bravo.
Love how you both turned into bobble heads at the end! 😂
Great song I haven't heard in years. Great driving song!
Donnie had another great song called Love Is Like A Rock
I've loved this song since it came out. When I hear it now the nostalgia hits hard. So glad ya'll liked it.
The Knack--My Sharona
This song is Rock! It’s not some dreamy weepy homage to love, it’s about two people who know they’re wrong for each other, but absolutely need to bump uglies. It’s about pure lust in the dust. Power chords, hooks, screaming lead over the top, a thumping baseline and add a primal scream at the end.
Rock music at its raw purest.
He lives about 30 miles from me. We see him around sometime. He still performs. If you can get a hold of his song called The Rapper when he played with the Jaggers. Great song.
Nice to start with a tune from a singer from my hometown 🤙🏼 Great reaction!
This is NOT the only hit Donnie had. I grew up in Chicago when this was played on the radio.
A most excellent start to the March Marathon!!! Keep it going; I'm looking forward to all your picks!
This is like the prototypical 80's rock song.
This was such a hit in my high school days along with so many other great rock bands. That era was worth living this life! ♥️🤘🏽
The music video is great! Always good hearing this song again.
I'm soooo glad you guys did this song. Been wanting to see your reaction to this rock classic. The voice on Donny is soooo crazy good at the end !
One of the best 80's songs and debut albums ever! Unexpected still today! I LOVE IT! GREAT REACTION, GUYS!
This. This is my favorite.✌️😊🔥🔥🔥
Under rated for sure.. I have all ways jammed along with this on guitar!
Sweet Merilee is a great song too!
This song always puts me in a better mood 🔥🔥🔥
Michael Stanley Band next.
Please 🙏 he can't love you - great sax 🎷🎉
I remember this song I used to love this back in high school
Another One Hit Wonder is the song VEHICLE by Ides of March. Fantastic horns. Many of the group reformed later as Survivor and had the hit from Rocky 3 called Eye of the Tiger
Thanks guys for a fun reaction to Donnie!!!
This song got a lot of play at Purdue my freshman year. It’s been a long time, thanks for the reaction!
This song came out i think early 80s i was about 14. I bought the cassette and wore it out.
Check out his live versions of this song, especially some of the really recent ones. His voice has changed with age, but he still sounds great and can hit the high notes. What an awesome artist. Enjoy!
For those that may be interested, a western Pennsylvania newspaper did an investigative piece in the early 2000s to identify the "Leah" that was the inspiration for the song's title. According to The Beaver County Times, the song was called "Ah! Leah!" for a woman named Leah Frankford, even though the song was not specifically about her. Apparently, Frankford dated the drummer of Iris' group The Jaggerz in the late 1960s and the first name of his bandmate's girlfriend stuck in Iris' head over the years. In a twist, newspaper reporter Scott Tady wrote that it was not until the late 1990s that Iris and Frankford caught up with each other after many years. Apparently, Iris was running a business at the time and his girlfriend, who was in the same field, became friends with another woman in that same field. The friend of Iris' girlfriend just happened to have a mother named "Leah" and the connection was made. As per Tady's article, "Leah" is known as one of the more popular girl's names in that region since Iris' song came out. Well, friends. If that was the first reaction for the "one hit wonder" marathon, we may all want to get our drinks and snacks now for the musical journey ahead before the next song is posted. 😂
Good choice to start the marathon, guys! Donnie has some other good songs as Sweet Merilee and Ridin' Thunder.
this is a cool song, the vocals are great! you'll like it I bet.
This song as well as Love is like a Rock were awesome. Roller skating to those two songs back in the early 80's, my GF at the time had a friend who's name was Leah and I always would sing this to her. Love your music selection the last few months. Can't beat the 70's music. Love is Like a Rock hit #37 in the American Top 40, so technically not a 1 hit wonder.
Got to see him live twice. He played small clubs which was really cool. Got to see a few acts in small clubs. It always hits differently in a small club.
Dang, I do know this. Only by the chorus the "here we go again". I was a kid - it immediately brought me to my neighborhood, playing outside - someone always had a radio outside as we played. You say it sounds like Queen. Musically I would agree. But it sounds like a typical early 80's power ballad. (The harmonies) Great song anyway you hear it!
This is one of the best songs from the 80's!!! You guys have to do She's a Beauty by The Tubes!!!
I was 20 years old when this came out. I loved it then and havent heard it in years. Excellent reaction guys. I love it!
Takes me back to my years skating. Nobody would sit through this song. Doin steps looking back seeing 5 or 6 folks doin the steps with you.
Love is Like a Rock is SO good, and so is I Can't Hear You. Another one is Do You Compute, but it didn't age well. lol Still, it really shows off how good his voice is.
That was about as a perfect start that you could wish for--I look forward to the next one! That was FUN! Thanks!
Right on guys, great reaction awesome one hit wonder for sure
Gen X has the best music EVER🎉❤