John DeBella (born 1949 or 1950)[1] is an American former DJ who played a major role in developing the morning zoo format.

After being fired for deviating from the station format,[1] in 1979 he became a morning DJ at WPEZ, now WWSW, in Pittsburgh,[3] where he used the line "Pittsburgh—where the sky is yellow and brown and the plants are as smart as the people.

After eight months, WLIR rehired him as a morning DJ; the Pittsburgh station manager had been planning to change formats and lay him off, but nevertheless bid up the salary he was offered.

He befriended singer Joan Jett and promoted her hit "I Love Rock and Roll",[1] for which he received a gold record.

[citation needed] From 1982 to 1993, DeBella was a morning host on WMMR-FM in Philadelphia, one of the nation's preeminent rock music stations, where his The DeBella Travesty with a team including former WLIR co-alumnus Mark "The Shark" Drucker, helped develop the morning zoo format.

[1][3][4] Regular guests included Clay Heery, proprietor of the Comedy Factory in Philadelphia, who appeared on-air as Captain Cranky, and Pat Godwin, a non-student living in a frat house at University of Pennsylvania who parodied hit songs; numerous stand-up comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld, made guest appearances.

At the suggestion of George Harris, who became station manager in 1983, the show was renamed Morning Zoo, corresponding to the name originated by Scott Shannon in Florida.

[4] Every spring through 2023, DeBella sponsored an annual dog walk at Green Lane Park in the Montgomery County suburbs.