80s Song Maria Here We Go Again
| "Ah! Leah!" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Donnie Iris | ||||
| from the album Back on the Streets | ||||
| B-side | "Joking" | |||
| Released | Oct 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | Rock, new wave, power pop | |||
| Length | 3:41 | |||
| Label | Midwest National | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(south) | Mark Avsec | |||
| Donnie Iris singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Ah! Leah!" is a vocal by Marking Avsec and American rock musician Donnie Iris from the latter'south 1980 album Back on the Streets. The vocal has been described as Iris's signature song,[ane] as well the unofficial anthem of the city of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania as a whole.[2]
Viii musicians appeared in early live performances of the song, including lead singer Iris, a drummer, three guitar players, a keyboard player and at least two bankroll vocalists, one female and 1 male.
The title of the song has been referred to in the form of puns on a few of Iris'south later albums — the 2009 live album Ah! Live! and the 2010 Christmas album Ah! Leluiah!.
Composition [edit]
Iris said,
When Mark and I wrote that together in my basement, around the piano, Mark originally had the idea of an anti-state of war song. And in the background, nosotros wanted to accept a hook, or a chorus, or a tune, that sounded almost like a Gregorian chant. And somehow, Marker came up with 'ah, Leah' as merely a chant. Information technology wasn't a chick'due south name, or a sure person or private in particular. I said, 'You lot know what, Mark? That's a chick'due south proper name.' And then that's how we named it 'Ah, Leah.'
It just so happens that there was a daughter by the name of Leah who had dated one of the guys in The Jaggerz years agone. She was a very pretty girl, and I had always loved her proper name. So, instead of an anti-war tune, which we messed around with but couldn't find anything in, it just turned into a love song. Isn't that weird?"[3]
A 2008 report by The Beaver Canton Times revealed that the Leah in question was Leah Frankford of Chippewa Township, Pennsylvania near Iris's hometown of Ellwood Metropolis. Frankford had moved to Florida just before The Jaggerz hit it big, and got confirmation from Iris himself subsequently Iris'south girlfriend by chance became friends with Frankford's daughter through Iris's mortgage business. Frankford had moved back to Beaver County by the time the vocal came out, and e'er noticed many girls at her ii daughters softball games too named Leah.[two]
Chart performance [edit]
It was released as a single in late 1980 and reached number 29 on the U.s.a. Billboard Hot 100, 22 on the Cash Box Top 100 and 19 on the US Billboard Height Tracks chart, and was most pop in Canada, where it became a Top 10 hit.[four]
In popular culture [edit]
The song has become the unofficial anthem of the metropolis of Pittsburgh and remains a staple on local radio stations alongside Iris's other hit songs such every bit The Rapper and Dear is Like a Rock.[two] It has also made appearances involving Pittsburgh'southward sports teams, including by the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park and used as bumper music by NBC whenever the Pittsburgh Steelers play on NBC Sunday Dark Football.
Album appearances [edit]
- Dorsum on the Streets, 1980
- Out of the Blue, 1992
- Alive! At Nick'south Fat City, 1998 (live)
- Together Alone, 1999 (acoustic)
- 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Donnie Iris, 2001
- 25 Years, 2004 (alive)
- Ah! Live!, 2009 (live)
Cover versions [edit]
- Electric Half dozen covered the vocal on their cover-album Mimicry and Memories (2015).[9]
References [edit]
- ^ "The Popdose Guide to Donnie Iris and the Cruisers: It'south a Crude Globe". Popdose. thirteen Apr 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ^ a b c https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/2008/06/nineteen/ah-ha-it-s-leah/18376748007/
- ^ Wiser, Carl (ten September 2006). "Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts . Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Superlative Singles". RPM. 21 March 1981. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved xxx Baronial 2015.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Nautical chart Book. p. 149. ISBN0-646-11917-six.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn'due south Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 410.
- ^ "Top 100 1981-03-28". Cashbox Magazine . Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
{{cite spider web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Last track listing for Mimicry and Memories". Retrieved 29 March 2015.
External links [edit]
- Lyrics
- Video on YouTube
- JC Mosquito, "Donnie Iris, "Ah! Leah!" (1981): Almost Hits", Something Else, 12 February 2013
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ah!_Leah!
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