American songwriter, singer and guitarist (Oct. 26, 1954 (?) - Jul. 10, 2025). DeLuca's early success came in writing songs for rock and country acts including The Joe Perry Project, Aldo Nova, Molly Hatchet, David Allan Coe, and Meredith Brooks. After a brief mid-1980s stint at Epic records where he released one album as a recording artist, DeLuca resumed his songwriting career and continued to write for other artists through the 1990s. His planned second album for Epic was cancelled after the label went through a reorganization and his A&R representative at the label was fired. The album remained unreleased until 2022, when the Australian label MelodicRock Classics released it on CD.
DeLuca was killed in his home in Encino, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, by an intruder on July 10, 2025, along with his wife, "American Idol" music supervisor Robin Kaye. DeLuca was 70 at the time of his death.
United States