Jaggerz
Formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA in the mid-60s, the Jaggerz comprised Dominic Ierace (b. Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, USA; lead vocals/guitar), Billy Maybray (drums/bass/vocals), Thom Davis (b. Duquesne, Pennsylvania, USA; keyboards/trumpet), Benny Faiella (b. Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, USA; guitar/bass), Jimmy Ross (b. Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, USA; trombone/bass) and Jim Pugliano (drums). Pittsburgh entrepreneur Joe Rock introduced the group to producers Gamble And Huff, who signed them to their own Gamble label in 1969, with one album but no hits resulting. They next signed with Kama Sutra Records, and released The Rapper, a funky rocker written by Ierace under his stage name Donnie Iris. The song reached number 2 in the US charts. Follow-up singles failed although the group continued into the mid-70s. Iris joined the funk group Wild Cherry before going on to a moderately successful solo career in the early '80s.