Jaggerz

Music Home >> Music Genres >> Undetermined Music



< < < < < > > > > > More Info on Jaggerz Similar Undetermined Music Search Artistopia

Biography

The Jaggerz are a pop music|pop / rock music|rock musical ensemble|band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . They are a one-hit wonder , their only major success being the single (music)|single " The Rapper ". Released on the Kama Sutra Records|Kama Sutra record label|label , "The Rapper" was #2 in the Billboard Hot 100 record chart|chart for two weeks in March 1970, and sold over one million copies with the music recording sales certification|gold record awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America|R.I.A.A. .

The band's name derives from the Pittsburgh English slang term, "jagger bush," meaning a thorny bush. They were management|managed by The Skyliners manager, Joe Rock.

History

Origins, 1965& ndash;1968

While attending college at Slippery Rock University , Donnie Iris (real name Dominic Ierace ) started a band called the Trivells. The band became known as Donnie and the Donnelles when the line up increased from three members to four. Shortly after dropping out of college, Iris found out that a band called Gary and the Jewel Tones needed a new guitarist, where Jimmie Ross was a member. This gave birth to a new band called the "Jaggers." Forming around 1965, they began playing night clubs and the like for the next few years.

Debut album, 1968& ndash;1969

In 1968, the Jaggers signed with Gamble Records , and they began to record their debut album. While in the early stages of recording the album, Jimmie Ross saw a magazine advertisement featuring another band called "The Jaggers." In order to avoid confusion, manager Joe Rock suggested that the "s" in "Jaggers" be changed to a "z." In 1969, their debut album, Introducing the Jaggerz , was released and was a moderate success.

Second album and "The Rapper", 1970& ndash;1973

In 1970, the Jaggerz left Gamble and joined Kama Sutra Records . There, they began recording their second album, We Went to Different Schools Together . The album was released in 1970.

One of the singles from We Went to Different Schools Together became the group's first chart-topping hit. " The Rapper ", written by Donnie Iris, was released that same year, reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1970, and was certified music recording sales certification|gold by the RIAA . Around this time, "The Rapper" was cover version|covered by Wolfman Jack .

"The Rapper" was the only significant Jaggerz hit, later earning the group the one-hit wonder status.

The Jaggerz continued to release singles through Kama Sutra until 1973, when they were dropped from the label.

Waning years and third album, 1974& ndash;1976

For a few years, the Jaggerz had no record label. Then, in 1975, they signed with Wooden Nickel Records to record their third album.

Come Again (The Jaggerz album)|Come Again was released in 1975 and spawned more singles from it. However, this new release had none of the impact that We Went to Different Schools Together had. It was becoming clear that the Jaggerz were fading from the pop culture scene. To make things worse for the band, they were dropped from their third label in 1976.

New lineup and break-up, 1976-1977

Sometime after being dropped from Wooden Nickel, the Jaggerz' original bandmembers began leaving. By late 1977, Benny Faiella and Bill Maybray were the only original members left. They were now joined by Gene and Robert Vallecorsa (lead guitar and keyboards, respectively), Sam Ippolito (lead vocals), and Mark Zeppuhar (saxophone). Even though they were now only playing at nightclubs, Faiella believed that the lineup was the strongest it had been in twelve years and that they would return to the charts. However, this proved false, and the Jaggerz finally broke up around 1977.

Separate projects, 1978& ndash;1989

After the Jaggerz began to break apart, members of the group went their own ways.

Dominic Ierace, the band's guitarist and vocalist, joined Wild Cherry (band)|Wild Cherry . By 1976, they had been together for six years and had just recently rose to prominence with " Play That Funky Music ." There, he met keyboardist Mark Avsec . Ierace (continuing to use his "Donnie Iris" nickname more and more) was on hand for Wild Cherry's third and fourth albums ( I Love My Music and Only the Wild Survive , respectively). But Wild Cherry's fate seemed to be similar to the Jaggerz', and they broke up in 1979. Iris then went solo with the help of Avsec, first with the non-album singles "Bring on the Eighties" and " Because of You (1940 song)|Because of You ." These singles proved little influence, and Avsec and Iris decided to put a band together. The lineup consisted of Iris, Avsec, Marty Lee Hoenes , Albritton McClain , and Kevin Valentine . The new band, called Donnie Iris|Donnie Iris and the Cruisers , released their first album in 1980, Back on the Streets (Donnie Iris album)|Back on the Streets . The album's first single, " Ah& #33; Leah! ", began a series of moderately successful albums and singles. Donnie Iris and the Cruisers are still together to this day.

Jimmie Ross, the Jaggerz' bassist and vocalist, joined The Skyliners at the advisement of Joe Rock. Eventually, he became a part of the duo Cooper & Ross with Cathy Cooper.

Regrouping and modern years, 1989& ndash;present

The original members (sans Donnie Iris) regrouped in 1989, released two Compact disc|CDs , and as of mid 2006, two of the original members were still playing twenty to twenty five concert|gigs annually. Original lead vocalist and bass guitar|bass player Bill Maybray died in 2004. He wrote and sang the group's debut single, "That's Why Baby I Love You". Their original drummer, Jim Pugliano, died on June 15, 2010, at the age of 63. - accessed June 2010

In 2008, rap artist The Game (rapper)|The Game released a track "Letter to the King", produced by Hi-Tek, from his album , LAX (album)|LAX , on which he sampling (music)|sampled "Memoirs of the Traveler" from the Jaggerz' album We Went to Different Schools Together . Other hip hop musicians sampling The Jaggerz music over the years, include Dilated Peoples in the 1990s and, more recently, Pede B ( Denmark ).

Members

Current members

Jimmie Ross - lead vocals, bass (1965–1976; 1989–present)

Benny Faiella - guitar (1965–1977; 1989–present)

Dennis McAbee - guitar

Jerry Coleman - keyboards

Paul Martello - drums

Ron Levi - trumpet

Rich Mansfield - sax

Mike Caporizzo - sax

Former members

Donnie Iris|Dominic Ierace - guitar, lead vocals (1965–1976)

Bill Maybray - bass, vocals (1965–1973)

Thom Davies - piano (1965–1973)

Jim Pugliano - drums (1965–1976; 1989–1998)

Frank Czuri - keyboards (1973–1976)

Sam Ippolito - lead vocals (1976–1977)

Gene Vallecorsa - guitar (1976–1977)

Robert Vallecorsa - keyboards (1976–1977)

T-Ray Elliott - drums (1971–1974)

Robert Peckman - guitar, vocals from Duquesne, Pa.

Larry Lorey - drums , ( 1969 - 1971 )

Discography

Albums

Introducing the Jaggerz (Gamble GS-5006), 1969

We Went to Different Schools Together (Kama Sutra KSBS-2017), 1970

Come Again (The Jaggerz album)|Come Again (Wooden Nickel BWL1-0772), 1975

And the Band Played On... (The Jaggerz album)|And the Band Played On... , 1998

Re-Rapped by Request , 2001

Singles

"(That’s Why) Baby I Love You" / "Bring It Back" (Gamble G-218) 1968

"Gotta Find My Way Back Home" / "Forever Together, Together Forever" (Gamble 226) 1968

"Together" / "Let Me Be the One" (Gamble 238) 1969

"Higher And Higher" / "Ain't No Sun" (Gamble 4008) 1970

"Need Your Love" / "Here's a Heart" (Gamble 4012) 1970

" The Rapper " / "Born Poor" (Kama Sutra 502) 1970

"I Call My Baby Candy" / "Will She Believe Me? " (Kama Sutra 509) 1970

"What a Bummer" / "Memories Of The Traveler" (Kama Sutra 513) 1970

"Let's Talk About Love" / "I'll Never Forget You" (Kama Sutra 517) 1971

"Let's Talk About Love" / "Ain't That Sad" (Kama Sutra 583) 1973

"2 + 2" / "Don't It Make You Wanna Dance" (Wooden Nickel PB/WB-10194) 1975

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Jaggerz


1. Donnie Iris

Undetermined Music Artists