{"id":1576,"date":"2013-07-22T11:15:58","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T11:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1576"},"modified":"2015-01-06T19:15:46","modified_gmt":"2015-01-06T19:15:46","slug":"porky-chedwick-pittsburghs-daddio-of-the-raddio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/07\/22\/porky-chedwick-pittsburghs-daddio-of-the-raddio\/","title":{"rendered":"Porky Chedwick, Pittsburgh\u2019s \u201cDaddio of the Raddio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Porky <\/a>
Porky with some of his followers in an undated photograph. (Photo by Wally DuBoise) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Porky <\/a>
Porky displayed some of his records in 1981. (Kent Badger\/Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Porky <\/a>
Porky in the WKFB studio in 2008. (Darrell Sapp\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Radio has become corporate. Computers, phone surveys, advertisers and program directors all weigh data and then decide what their stations\u2019 DJs will and won\u2019t play.<\/p>\n

But when Craig \u201cPorky\u201d Chedwick started in 1948, his philosophy was to play the music he loved and let the critics be damned.<\/p>\n

And there were plenty of them, too, once he began playing the music of black artists on WHOD in Homestead, later WAMO-AM. While other stations were playing white covers of black releases, Chedwick had Pittsburgh teenagers \u2014 white and black \u2014 listening to the original versions. He infuriated parents to the point where he was persona non grata in some communities.<\/p>\n

His following was large enough five decades ago that an estimated 50,000 people clogged Downtown streets when he did a live broadcast near the Stanley Theater. He was once given a 10-minute ovation at a Three Rivers Stadium concert. One of his career highs occurred in 1961, when he hosted a sold-out show featuring Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells at the then-new Civic Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to introduce black records to white audiences who were a little bit bigoted and conservative,\u201d said Chedwick in a 1981 Post-Gazette article. \u201cIt was unheard of in my day. I was blaring with saxophones, I was yelling into the mike, I was talking in rhymes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born Feb. 4, 1918, Chedwick began his radio career in 1948 by hosting a five-minute sports show on Homestead\u2019s WHOD. Eventually he filled in for the station\u2019s disc jockeys and the next year landed his own half-hour program on which the station management allowed him to play obscure rhythm and blues 78s he bought from Sunny Man Jackson\u2019s Record Store.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those day, in the 1940s, you could play the records in the store to decide if you wanted them. I guess I got carried away because I stayed all day long in the listening booths.\u201d<\/p>\n

When WHOD became WAMO in 1950, Chedwick stayed on and introduced thousands to his \u201cdusty discs.\u201d He called himself such names as \u201cThe Bossman,\u201d \u201cPork the Tork\u201d and \u201cPlatter-Pushin\u2019 Poppa.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the one that perhaps resonates the most with his legion of fans is \u201cDaddio of the Raddio.\u201d Chedwick is long into retirement, but that moniker no doubt is eternal in Pittsburgh\u2019s collective memory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Craig \u201cPorky\u201d Chedwick started in 1948, his philosophy was to play the music he loved and let the critics be damned.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesPorky Chedwick, Pittsburgh\u2019s \u201cDaddio of the Raddio<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":1577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066],"tags":[986,1001,1009,1035],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/tumblr_mq6tj3Apx51rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C973&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2491,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/25\/fund-at-stanley-theater\/","url_meta":{"origin":1576,"position":0},"title":"Fun at Stanley Theater","date":"September 25, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"It was at the Stanley that raggae legend Bob Marley performed his final concert on Sept. 23, 1980, eight months before his death from cancer.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_mav82wYhj31rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1129%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":681,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/05\/09\/joseph-c-fitzpatrick-pittsburghs-legendary-art-teacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":1576,"position":1},"title":"Joseph C. 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