Friday Flashback - Donnie Iris

Donnie Iris - Ah! Leah! Yes, it's totally cheesy, but whenever I hear it, it sends me back to 1981, when I finally moved back to the states from Guam. I had just settled in a duplex in OB (That's Ocean Beach, and I still call it that. I also have an OB decal on my car window to this day.), and I was in radio heaven. After four years living in a place that had one decent radio station, and one so-so backup, I had plenty of choice. There were a few good stations in San Diego, and if I tweaked my antenna just right, I could occasionally pull in KROQ or KLOS from the LA area. I'm relatively certain this song got airplay on those stations, as well as those that played Top 40 songs. A little factoid about the song: Donnie Iris, who can't stop his burning desire for Leah, was a member of the funk-rock band Wild Cherry. Remember Play That Funky Music, White Boy? He was also a member of The Jaggerz, and wrote a hit song for them, The Rapper. Donnie is still around, too, and performs with Donnie Iris and The Cruisers, mostly near his home in western Pennsylvania.