Porky Chedwick
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Porky Chedwick, known to generations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as "The Daddio of the Raddio, " "The Platter Pushin' Papa, " "The Bossman," and a host of other colorful nicknames, is decidedly radio's last true pioneer. He was the first white DJ to present a racially diverse audience in a major eastern American city a steady diet of what were, in the summer of 1948, called "race records." The trail he blazed--some 4 years before the more famous Pennsylvania native, Alan Freed, called the music "rock and roll"--was a dual one. Porky's original playlist was comprised of old R&B and gospel records Porky had collected over the years, making him the world's first bona fide oldies DJ. He called the records his "dusty discs," since he would literally have to blow the dust off the 78s before he could preview them at the records stores. Record stores had no demand for the records and would often just give them to Porky, or he'd rescue them from bargain bins with what little money he could scrape together. Years later, radio stations, record companies and concert promoters would take notice and copy Porky's Chedwick's formula, creating the billion-dollar "oldies" rock and roll nostalgia industry which thrives still today. Porky Chedwick has been recognized on the floor of the U.S Senate for his pioneering contributions to radio and rock and roll (and countless times around Pittsburgh, including a day-long 50th anniversary oldies concert called "Porkstock," in 1998 at Three Rivers Stadium) and was among a group of radio disc jockeys honored in the "Dedicated to the One I Love" exhibit at Cleveland, Ohio's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, in 1996. He's the only Pittsburgh DJ to be recognized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At age 88, Porky celebrated his 58th anniversary on the air at Hall of Fame's Alan Freed Radio Studio on August 12, 2006. He'll be the subject of an upcoming documentary that was begun that day, by Emmy Award winning producer, Daniel Friedman, the son of one of the original owners of WAMO in Pittsburgh.
Porky Chedwick was born George Jacob Chedwick, on Feb. 4, 1918 in Homestead, Pa, one of ten children of a steelworking father, whose wife passed away when Porky was still a child. His was a close-knit, culturally and racially diverse neighborhood, which he often compared to "a secluded island," where things such as one's skin color simply didn't matter. As Porky told this writer, "We a1l had one thing in common--poverty." The origin of the nickname, "Porky" remains up for debate, but he insists it was given to him by his mother because he was a short and chubby youngster. Before getting into radio, he worked odd jobs around Homestead-Munhall, including delivering newspapers as a young boy, later working as a sports "stringer" reporter for the newspaper, sorting mail for the local post office and calling play-by-play sporting events at his alma mater, Munhall High School. He began his career at WHOD in Homestead (which took the call letters, WAMO--an acronym for the rivers Allegheny, Monongehela and Ohio--in 1956), when the low-power AM signed on, August 1, 1948. When he responed to an ad in a local paper, advertising for on-air talent at the new radio station, his popularity as a play-by-play announcer won him at ten minutes Saturday sports and music show. The music portion was gradually exapanded, in reponse to the public's reaction. WHOD, known as "The Station of Nations," was created to serve the diverse European and eastern bloc immigrant population that worked the Pittsburgh area mills. Most of his young listeners, who turned an ear toward Porky's music and off-the-cuff rhymes and patter (he may have been the first white rapper), had no idea that he was caucasian. Of course, years later, when the fact became apparent, the predictable outcry from parents, religious and civic leaders made him rock and roll's first anti-hero. He was banned from appearing in some neighborhoods. The suggestion that he was trying to corrupt the (white) youth of America was put to rest when he was commended by Sen. Estes Kefauver for his work organizing youth baseball teams to combat juvenile delinquency. He even had a few kids remanded to his custody from juvenile court.
In spite of WHOD's low wattage (at the pinnacle of Porky's popularity on WAMO AM 860, he'd only have 1,000 watts behind him, but still give 50,00-watt KDKA a run for their money), Porky became Pittsburgh's "Pied Piper of Platter." By the early 1950s, black record labels were hearing about the noise Porky was making in Pittsburgh with old R&B stock, so they began inundating him with new material. Porky happily introduced the new material to his "movers and groovers," never accepting a dime of payola, which was the norm at the time. Still, oldies would forever dominate his playlist. Porky is given credit by numerous R&B/rock and roll legends, including Bo Diddley, Smokey Robinson, Little Anthony and myriad others, for giving their recordings their first airplay. Porky Chedwick is reponsible for making Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania "The Oldies Capitol of the World," and for making the city a testing ground for new R&B from the early 50s through the 70s. The impact of Porky Chedwick's contributions far transcend the boundries of the Steel City. He never received the notariety-- or the paycheck-- of many DJs who followed in his footsteps (but then, that hold true of many pioneers), his accomplishments are an indelible part of our music and culture.
Today, Porky is, as we radio people like to say, "between gigs," but Pittsburghers can still find him packing local nightclubs with his sock hops, just as he has since the late-1940s. He resides in the city's Brookline section with his wife and business manager, Jeannie and their two little dogs.
