JOHN DEBELLA

John DeBella was a morning radio host for 48 years and was instrumental in the successes of WLIR/WDRE-FM New York, WPEZ-FM Pittsburgh, and WMMR-FM, WYSP-FM and WMGK-FM in Philadelphia.

John’s early years on radio included writing and producing segments of The National Lampoon Radio Hour, the syndicated radio program that starred John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray and many others.

John joined WLIR-FM in 1976. He joined Top 40 music station WPEZ-FM/Pittsburgh in 1979, before returning to WLIR-FM a year later, helping to develop an early version of a New Rock music format.  

In 1982 John moved to WMMR-FM in Philadelphia, and within two years he had catapulted his morning show to No.1. As one of the originators of the Morning Zoo format, his show was copied in nearly every radio market in America. 12 years later, John joined WYSP-FM in the same city for afternoon drive. Within one-year WYSP-FM's afternoon drive ratings were number one in their core demographic.

In June of 2002 John returned to morning radio once again, this time at Philadelphia’s Classic Rock station WMGK-FM. It was a top-rated morning show until he retired in June 2023, 21 years later.  

Throughout his time in Philadelphia radio, John has always been dedicated to helping local charities, including the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service Center, the March of Dimes, City Team Ministries and other worthy organizations. 

In 2023, John DeBella was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.