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| Porky Chedwick |
Legendary Pittsburgh area disc jockey Craig
“Porky” Chedwick died Sunday morning in a Pittsburgh hospital.
He was 96, according to
triblive.com.
Close friend Ed Weigle said family members called him to say Chedwick of Brookline was in an emergency room, complaining of pain. Soon after, he stopped breathing.
Chedwick, who turned 96 last month, worked for many Pittsburgh area radio stations and was known for his lively banter that included calling himself “the Daddio of the Raddio” and “Your Platter Pushin’ Poppa.”
Chedwick was credited with bringing R&B music to legions of Pittsburghers for more than 60 years. He was among the first white DJs to play music by black artists on the radio, starting at the former WAMO.
A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chedwick began his radio career in 1948.
He began his career at WHOD 860 AM 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 a 10-minute Saturday sports and music show. The music portion was gradually expanded, 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, had no idea that he was Caucasian. Years later, when the fact became apparent, the 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), 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 though payola was the norm at the time. Still, oldies would dominate his playlist.
Shortly after being honored by WAMO for his years of service in 1984, he was let go by the station. He would work at various other stations in the Pittsburgh market until executives from Sheridan Broadcasting (WAMO's parent company) asked him to come back in 1992.
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 Capital 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.
