We geezers were talking about the personalities, or lack thereof, on radio today. And that led us to...
"Pork the Tork," "The Daddio of the Raddio," "The Boss Hound of Ground Round," "Your Platter Pushin’ Papa," "The Pied Piper of Platter" or simply "The Boss Man" who "Porkified the Movers and Groovers, Sound Hounds and Cool Ones" with his "Dusty Discs" that were "On Fire" in his "Spinner Sanctum" or at Porkfest. He "Got the Goods From Out of the Woods," and "No One Was Faster Than the Master Blaster."
Carl and Nancy Janusek recalled one famous scat in their 1991 Echoes of the Past - Porky Chedwick, The Pittsburgh Rhythm N Blues Legend: "This Is the Baron of the Groove, the Sultan of the Move, the Supersonic Megatonic Flash With Static From My Dusty Disc Attic." Let's see Wiz top that rap!
Porky's "Golden Ear, Breaking Hits From Year To Year," would "Shatter This Platter" or "Make Your Liver Quiver." He had "More Jams than Smuckers," and "More Lines Than Bell Telephone." His "Name Isn’t George Washington; It’s Pork Torkington."
He reminded listeners that "I’m Not Sergeant York, I'm Pork the Tork." "The Blonde Wonder With the Record Thunder" has seen "More Hops Than the Easter Bunny" and was a "Head Snapper and Dapper Rapper." And when he said "Blow Your Horn," he meant the saxman, not teens behind the wheel!
His audience would lean on their car horns whenever Porky used his catchphrase, or follow his command to “Stop What You’re Doing and Dance” (which his fans did once on the Parkway).
Porky raved over the air "This Record Is On Fire. We're Burning." The Homestead VFD was notified and rushed to the studios. As he explained, "The Double WAMO: This Station Is So Hot, They Gotta Call the Firetrucks Out."
He shut down the Golden Triangle when he broadcast outside the old Stanley Theater in the summer of 1961. Some 8,000-to-10,000 fans showed up. Downtown streets turned into a parking lot until Mayor Joe Barr sent the cops to ask Porky to desist so they could unclog traffic.
In spite, or maybe because of all that, George Jacob Chedwick has been honored by Congress, the State, and local governments with proclamations and plaques. He was recognized as a pioneering DJ by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Smokey Robinson and Bo Diddley credit Porky with launching their careers. The Porkfest was held to honor his legacy. And now he’s playing on web radio, a far cry from the 78s he used to spin at WHOD, with TL.
He may be 93, but Porky's still the Boss Man. And remember, "There's No Pain When the Daddio of the Raddio Fries Your Brain."
Porky Chedwick will appear at the "All Oldies, Only Oldies" dance March 19th at the long-time hops floor, the Stockdale Fire Hall (it first hosted dances way back in 1957). The Daddio will be available for photos and autographs starting at 8 PM.
The dance itself is slated to run from eight-to-midnight and is a BYO affair. Jim "J.D. The D.J." Dudas will spin the disks. Admission is $10 per person and reservations can be made only by calling 724-330-5002.
Hey, you know there's more to the Sunday paper than the sports, crosswords, and comics. Today there was an article written about - or actually to - Porky Chedwick. It was written in the Post Gazette by Don "Champ" Early, a Mon Valley doowopper with the Sabres, who did "Calypso Baby"/"You Can Depend On Me" in 1955 on Bullseye.
It doesn't go on about the patter and hype of the Daddio of the Raddio; it explains why he was a Pittsburgh legend for taking kids under his wing. This is Early's tale about how one piece of Porky advice - "Champ, don't let the streets consume you" - put him on his life's trail. Click on the link and read it; you'll appreciate Porky just a little more.
Hey, Travis Klein, local music biz institution, put up this post and Old Mon thought he'd pass it along:
"Many of you know Porky Chedwick, if not personally, by reputation. Porky is a living legend as America’s preeminent oldies disc jockey. He and Jeannie now live in Tarpon Springs, Florida and Porky is looking for work as an M.C. or disc jockey. If you know someone that would like to offer Porky a paying gig, call Jeannie’s cell phone at (412) 513-5928."
As Travis says "There are so many ex-Pittsburghers down there as well as oldies fans from New York and elsewhere..." So if you're in the business of booking guys for record hop or club gigs, Old Mon and a few million fans vouch for Porky's resume. Give Jeannie a call.
Porky Chedwick, who introducing generations of Pittsburgh teen-agers to R&B, is heading to the sunny shores of Florida at the age of 90. He and Jeannie are retiring to Tarpon Springs next month.
Porky plans to stay active, doing some cruise-line gigs and coming back home for the oldie shows.
He spun wax for 60 years at an untold number of stations, including WHOD's successor WAMO, Jeannette's WKFB, McKeesport's WEDO, and God only knows how many hops.
Pork the Tork had a farewell hop at Jimmy G's Restaurant in Sharpsburg on Sunday. If you want to catch him on the air once more before he leaves, the Daddio will be on WKFB-AM's (770) "Morning Memories Show." The three-hour tribute to Your Platter Pushin' Papa will air Friday, from 7-10 AM.
If you want to refresh your memories of the Boss Man's career, read the Daddio of the Raddio
(Edit - the Pork Man and Jeanne plan to return Pittsburgh to stay.)
Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a relatively unknown DJ named Porky Chedwick was making quite a splash here in Pittsburgh. He was a white man broadcasting "race" music; blues, R&B, doo-wop, gospel and jazz.
Some parents went as far as to call him a satanic influence on their children. In fact, the nuns that taught his future wife said he did "the devil's work."
The innuendoes were 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 kids remanded to his custody from juvenile court.
Actually, Chedwick was one of the first DJs to promote a Christian lifestyle, free of alcohol, drugs and tobacco (By his own admission, Porky's only vice was girls, although his friends say the only thing he really can't resist is coconut creme pie!)
His generosity is legendary. He's made millions, and given away whatever business leeches didn't swindle from him. One well known story tells of Chedwick giving a homeless man some change. The change was his bus fare, and he walked home so the more unfortunate guy could eat.
In a time when Frank Sinatra, crooners, and big bands reigned, Chedwick broke all the radio rules, and the kids flocked to him and his shows.
"Pork the Tork", the "Daddio of the Raddio," your "Platter Pushin' Papa," the "Boss Hoss with the Hot Sauce," the "Pied Piper of Platter," had rubbed the magic lamp, and the R&B genie would never get stuffed back into the bottle. "Porky's golden ear, breaking hits from year to year," was his credo.
He was born George Jacob Chedwick on February 4, 1918 in Homestead, one of ten children of a steelworking father. His mom passed away when he was still a child. He was raised in a close-knit, culturally and racially diverse neighborhood, which he often compared to "a secluded island," where skin color didn't matter.
As Chedwick told Wikipedia, "We all 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 stubby youngster.
His old Munhall high school classmates claim it was because...ah, we won't get into that, hehe.
He had changed his first name from George to the more flowing Craig Chedwick when he got his first job as a sports stringer for the Daily Messenger in Homestead and as a PA announcer at local sporting events. Then he heard about an opportunity to broadcast on the new Homestead radio station.
And so his career in radio began on August 1, 1948 with a stint on WHOD, a tiny station located behind a Homestead candy store known as "The Station of Nations," doing a 10 minute sports and music program. The station was the forerunner of WAMO.
Chedwick began playing blues and R&B records by musicians like Bo Diddley and Little Anthony and the Imperials. He introduced the new material as his "movers and groovers," and never pushed any vinyl because of payola. Chedwick spun his beloved oldies, too, his "dusty disks." He appreciated soul and put it on the air.
Most of his listeners, who tuned in for Chedwick's music and off-the-cuff rhymes and patter (he claimed "I had more lines than Bell Telephone. I was the original rapper," or "I'm going to shatter this platter and make your liver quiver"), had no idea that he was white.
A sizzling performance from a band would make him say, "This record is on fire. We're burning," (which once led to a listener calling the Homestead fire department!) or just alerting the audience that he had a "hot platter." He'd infuriate labels by turning a record over and featuring the B side if he thought it was a better song.
And Chedwick refused to play covers of those songs copied by white musicians on the big labels. As the told the Tribune-Review in 1998, "I wouldn't even play Elvis Presley's version of 'Hound Dog.' I played Big Mama Thornton's."
To this day, many of those black artists pay tribute to Chedwick for giving them their first air play and sticking with them. As Bo Diddley said "Any entertainer of my era who say they don't know who Porky Chedwick is ... they're damn lyin'! That's the cat that played the records. I know."
Besides Diddley, some of his R&B admirers are Smoky Robinson, Hank Ballard, and Little Anthony.
Chedwick essentially invented the concept of oldies 60 years ago with his "dusty disks." They were oldies even when Chedwick first played them. He bought or was given unwanted 78s, records by black acts, and dropped the needle on them.
"The falsettos, the bass, the togetherness. They wrote about poverty and handicaps I could understand. This was a message nobody was getting. I blew the dust off them. I was giving kids the music. One day they would know I was speaking the truth." He had invented his signature "Porky Sound."
Chedwick is responsible for making Pittsburgh "The Oldies Capitol of the World," a reputation it still carries today in the music industry.
Chedwick's career moved from WHOD and WAMO to KQV in 1972, and then to WNRZ from 1985 to 1986. After a 10 year hiatus, Pork returned to WAMO in 1996, then moved to WWSW in 1998 and to WLSW in 2000. Chedwick is currently spinning disks for WKHB.
Luigi Sacco, aka Lou Christie, said being cool when he grew up meant listening to Porky Chedwick. His hops and R&B revues were on the must-see list of every Pittsburgh teen. Chedwick still likes to say that he has seen "more hops than the Easter Bunny." He estimates he's done well over 7,000 of them.
It's reputed that his excellent physical condition (except for his eyesight and bad hearing - not bad for a 90-year old man) is partly due to the times he had to resort to taking the shoe leather express to his record hops. Many nights he’d walk for miles, lugging along his records, when he couldn’t bum a ride.
He did have one health bump in 1991, when Porky had a benign brain tumor removed. The troops held a benefit for him at the Syria Mosque, and they couldn't keep away the acts: Wolfman Jack emceed the show, and Jim Quinn, Bob Livorio and Charlie Appel said a few words.
The performers were Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, the Moonglows, Lou Christie, Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners, the Vogues, the Marcels, the Cleftones, Johnnie and Joe, Bobby Comstock, the Contrails and the Elmonics. Others sent their wishes by tape and letter, including the Coasters, Bo Diddley, Dick Clark, the Chirelles, Bobby Vinton, the Penguins, Danny and the Juniors, the Cadillacs, the Chantels, Marv Johnson, Phil Phillips, the Tune Weavers, Lenny Welch, Jerry Blavat, Jay Michael and Barry Kaye.
His best known story is of the time when Chedwick did a live show at the Stanley Theater. An hour before he went on the air, 500 people crowded around the building. Before the show was over, 10,000 people surrounded the theater. Downtown Pittsburgh became a parking lot.
Kids were stuck on buses in the logjam created by Chedwick's appearance. They got off, crossed the bridges and walked to the Stanley Theater to see him. He told the teens pouring into town to stop their cars and listen to the music wherever they were at because there was no more room for the fans of Porkology in the Golden Triangle.
They did. Chedwick spun "Dancin' in the Streets," and they hopped out of their cars on streets all over the city and started dancing. Pittsburgh was tied up for hours. Porky-mania had taken control. It still rules.
Chedwick has been recognized on the floor of the United States Congress for his pioneering contributions to radio and rock and roll (and countless times around Pittsburgh, including a 50th anniversary oldies concert called "Porkstock," in 1998 at Three Rivers Stadium.)
A bronze plaque commemorating Chedwick and WAMO was placed on the building that housed WAMO on 107 E. Eighth St., near the Homestead Grays Bridge. The plaque is partially dedicated to "The Bossman." September 23, 2006 was declared “Porky Chedwick Day” in Allegheny County by the elected suits.
WQED-TV has featured Chedwick on their nationally broadcast PBS R&B/doo wop television specials, taped at The Benedum Center.
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.
Pittsburghers can still find him packing local nightclubs with his sock hops, just as he has since the late 1940s. He lives in Brookline with his wife and business manager, Jeannie, and their two little dogs. (As of this writing, he's back in Florida.) The two met at a hop at the Linden Grove in 1990, and were married a few months later. His surviving sons are Paul of Mount Washington and Michael, who lives in Atlanta.
He decided to move in 2008 to Florida to soak up the sun in his twilight; Porky decided instead to come back home for good before the year ran out - there were too many old people in the Sunshine State to suit his taste. (He did move back, and is said to be looking to return to the Steel City. With our recent winters, we'd strongly suggest dual residency!)
Hey, Porky Chedwick did more to put Pittsburgh on the music map than any other performer in the City. R&B acts opened here because he made the 'Burgh the hottest soul market of his time. Oldies radio began because of his playlist. Everyone made money off of Chedwick - except Chedwick. He doesn't care.
He's what everyone in Pittsburgh aspires to be - a honest, hard working family man with a soul (and ear) of gold, talkin' trash and boppin' through life. Porky will always be the city's "Boss Hoss."
Did you grow up in Pittsburgh during the sixties? Then you remember the music scene.
Porky Chedwick: The Daddio of the Raddio, Your Platter Pushin' Papa, The Boss Man, the Pied Piper of Platter, Porky was all those things and more. Porky did all the dances, and his oldies/R&B playlist - and make no mistake, he originated "race" music in this neck of the woods - had kids flocking to his hops, and he still does an odd gig or two. DJ'ing out of WHOD/WAMO in Homestead, he was the man. I can still hear his theme, "Bongo Blues" (until his Porky jingles replaced it) playing in my head.
It's said he made a million dollars at the hops and either gave it away or had it embezzled from him - and he doesn't care. He said God took it from him because He knew the Daddio couldn't handle it. One benefit of his legendary disdain of money is that it kept him clean of the payola stain that covered so many other top dj's of his era.
Once Porky played Martha Reeve's "Dancin' In the Streets" from a downtown broadcast site and told his radio listeners to stop what they were doing and dance to her beat. Kids all over the area stopped their cars in tunnels, at stop lights, and at intersections and got out and danced. Traffic was tied up for hours as it was estimated that 10,000 teens were tuned in while on their way to town to catch Porky's act.
Terry Lee/TL: He spun wax out of McKeesport's WMCK/WIXZ and featured Music for Young Lovers complete with reverb, a biggie back in the day. All the cool cars had it, along with a red light in the back seat. Every radio in the cars parked along South Park's China Wall (a lover's lane frequented by romantic teens and peeping tom police with high voltage flashlights) had his show dialed in. TL managed the Arondies and Swamp Rats (nee Fantastic Dee Jays) and played the heck out them, along with "High on a Hill" by Scott English and "Have I Sinned" by Donnie Elbert. He closed out the show with "Goodnight, My Love," not sure of the artist. He made so much money at the hops that he had security with him to get the swag home.
Clark Race: A KDKA jock through the 1960s, Race had a 50% audience rating, meaning at any one time, half the teen radios in Pittsburgh were tuned to his show. He also hosted the wildly popular TV show "Dance Party," a local American Bandstand. Everyone checked it out just to see if they knew anyone boog-a-looing or slow draggin' on live TV, or better yet, someone that had ditched their steady for a less left-footed partner. He broke Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes" and Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet." Clark Race was also a fixture at the hop scene.
Mad Mike Metro(vich): Mad Mike's show originated from WZUM in Carnegie and was broke into different segments. The more popular were Mad Mike's Moldie Oldies and the Progressive Teen Sound, a showcase for what was basically garage and surfer rock. He's the dude that launched Tommy James' career and he was a regular at West View Dance Land. One famous story has the early Rolling Stones playing live and drawing a crowd of 200 while Mad Mike's competing gig drew 2,000. Mad Mike died in 2000.
The Other Biggies: I couldn't find much on these guys, but they were giants in the 1960s - Charlie Appel, still a part-time DJ and full time reverend, from Monroeville's WPSL (he still has a crew of followers known as the Apple Corps), Brother Love of WAMO, who introduced progressive music to the Burg, and Bob Livorio of WKPA in New Kensington, another renowned hop jock.
The Dance Halls: I'm from the South Hills, and my memory can still dredge up the Linden Grove in Castle Shannon, the White Elephant in White Oak, I think, though it burned down long ago, the Lebanon Lodge in Mt. Lebanon, Sully's in Brentwood - that burned too, occupational hazard, I guess - and West View Dance Land where everyone got down to the Battle of the Bands. Kennywood did some dances, too. A few romances and many boozy parking lot fights were started at these venues. How else would a self-respecting Pittsburgh teen kill the weekend?
The Songs: Culled by memory in no particular order: "Wisdom of a Fool," The Jesters; "The Wind," Diablos; "69," Arondies, "Whip It On Me Baby," Billy Guy; "My Heart Cries," Etta & Harvey; "You're Pushing Too Hard," The Seeds; "High Flying Wine," The Igniters; "Fried Onions," Lord Rockingham; "Love You So Bad," The Empires; "Baby Let Me Bang Your Box," The Bangers; "Someone," The Contrails; "Ain't No Big Thing," The Electrons; "High on a Hill," Scott English; "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O," Larry Dale; "Shop Around," The Mad Lads; "Love Is So Tough," The Fantastic Dee Jays; "Don't You Hear Me Calling Baby," Ronnie Haig; "Have I Sinned," Donnie Elbert; "Psycho" & "The Witch," The Sonics. Our song? "Everlasting Love," Robert Knight, "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You," Frankie Valli, and "So Much In Love," The Tymes. One song wasn't enough.
If you can remember most of these names, places and tunes, congratulations - Altzheimers hasn't won yet. And by the power invested in me by The Boss Man, I dub thee an official member of the South Park Cruisers Club, circa 1967. It was a very good year.
