Porky Chedwick
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Craig "Porky" Chedwick (born February 4, 1918) known to generations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, as "The Daddio of the Raddio, " "The Platter Pushin' Papa, " "The Bossman," "Pork the Tork", and a host of other colorful nicknames, is a veteran radio presenter.
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[edit] Background
Chedwick 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. Chedwick's original playlist was comprised of old R&B and gospel records that he 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 Chedwick, 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 United States 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, Chedwick 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.
[edit] Early life
Porky Chedwick was born George Jacob Chedwick (he later changed his name to "Craig"), on February 4, 1918 in Homestead, Pennsylvania, 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.
[edit] Radio Work
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 responded 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 response 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 Chedwick's music and off-the-cuff rhymes and patter (he may have been the first white rapper), had no idea that he was Caucasian. Years later, when the fact became apparent, the predictable outcry from some parents, religious and civic leaders made him a local anti-hero. and 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 Senator Estes Kefauver for his work organizing youth baseball teams to combat juvenile delinquency. He even had a few youths remanded to his custody from juvenile court.
In spite of WHOD's low wattage (1,000 watts compared to 50,000 watts on KDKA.), Chedwick became Pittsburgh's "Pied Piper of Platter." By the early 1950s, black music record labels were hearing about the noise Chedwick was making in Pittsburgh with old R&B stock, so they began inundating him with new material. Chedwick introduced the new material to his "movers and groovers," never accepting payola, which was the norm at the time. Still, oldies would dominate his playlist. Chedwick 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 responsible 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 boundaries of the Steel City. He never received the notoriety-- or the paycheck-- of many DJs who followed in his footsteps, however his accomplishments are an indelible part of the local and national music and culture.[citation needed]
[edit] Health
It has been suggested that Porky’s excellent physical condition (excluding his eyesight and diminished hearing) today may be partly due to the many times he had to regularly resort to walking to his record hop engagements. Many nights he’d walk for miles, lugging a heavy satchel of records, when he couldn’t secure motor transportation.
His physical fitness most certainly played a part in his swift recovery from brain surgery in 1990. When he was diagnosed with a large, benign tumor, it sent a shock throughout Pittsburgh and a national community of pioneer artists who still feel in his debt. Friends including Little Anthony, Hank Ballard, Lou Christie, Wolfman Jack, Johnnie and Joe, Bobby Comstock, The Marcels, The Vogues and Bo Diddley organized a benefit concert to help shoulder his huge medical bill.
Chedwick's recovery actually rivaled the Gulf War as a point of interest in Pittsburgh on a popular WRRK radio program, with listeners calling daily for a progress report. Porky received more than 5,000 get-well cards while in the hospital -- some just addressed to “The Bossman,” in care of West Penn Hospital.
[edit] Chedwick Today
Today Porky Chedwick is currently a radio personality for Pittsburgh-area AM station WKHB (620) which programs a mixture of oldies. 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.
