Two things distinguished Pittsburgh legend Donnie Iris, who passed away today at 83 after battling bladder cancer.
The first was great rock pop songs, often co-written with keyboardist Mark Avsec, and distinguished by the interplay of contrapuntal vocal parts that evoked Eric Carmen’s hormone-fueled hits with the Raspberries.
And the second was the greatest scream in rock and roll.
Both hallmarks are on full display in this 1981 performance of “That’s the Way Love Ought to Be”.
Thanks to songs like “Love is Like a Rock”. “My Girl”, and of course “Ah! Leah!”, Iris, whose hit making career dated back to 1970’s “The Rapper” with the Jaggerz, was a Pittsburgh treasure.
