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Clarke Snags the Daddio

J

JohnnyMorganWXJX

Guest
Porky Chedwick will be joining WKFB/770 for Saturdays, noon to 3pm.

Congrats, Clarke on getting the Daddio of the Radio on board! And congrats to Porky for still goin strong at age almost 90 (!).

Now, Clarke, I see that Chuck Brinkman's "between jobs" now...
 
The thought did cross my mind. I believe Brinkman has been snapped up by an AM station in Dallas, however.

I have already had six requests for airchecks of Porky, and one for an autograph. Amazing.

While I'm here, let me note that Jay Thurber (late of "Radio 9" on WRCT) and Caleb Michaels are now splitting a regular Sunday-night airshift on 620 KHB.

> Porky Chedwick will be joining WKFB/770 for Saturdays, noon
> to 3pm.
>
> Congrats, Clarke on getting the Daddio of the Radio on
> board! And congrats to Porky for still goin strong at age
> almost 90 (!).
>
> Now, Clarke, I see that Chuck Brinkman's "between jobs"
> now...
 
Just how strong is Chedwick going?

> Porky Chedwick will be joining WKFB/770 for Saturdays, noon
> to 3pm.
>
> Congrats, Clarke on getting the Daddio of the Radio on
> board! And congrats to Porky for still goin strong at age
> almost 90 (!).
>
> Now, Clarke, I see that Chuck Brinkman's "between jobs"
> now...
>
 
Should Porky Chedwick be involved in the Super Bowl broadcast?

Okay, forgive me, because those two guys are tremendous talents with careers we'd kill for.

Then again, Chedwick and Cope ranting at each other- with Dueling Banjos in the background- could be the all-time broadcast!!!!
 
Re: Should Porky Chedwick be involved in the Super Bowl broadcast?

> Okay, forgive me, because those two guys are tremendous
> talents with careers we'd kill for.

I agree with you 50%.

Chedwick was one of the greatest innovators in radio, helping to invent Top 40 radio back when the industry was transitioning from the golden age of scripted programs into the modern disc jockey era. His work as an early pioneer in the 1950's and early 1960's qualifies him for an honored spot in the radio hall of game.

But since the late 1960's, he's been a professional has-been. His ads in Billboard in the early 1970's begging for a job were embarrassing. When time passed him by, it was a sad thing.

It's good that he can have a final go-round on a nostalgia program. He deserves it for his position as an industry pioneer.

> Then again, Chedwick and Cope ranting at each other- with
> Dueling Banjos in the background- could be the all-time
> broadcast!!!!
>
 
Re: Porky Chedwick

We had a great response to Porky's initial broadcast today. The phone rang non-stop for three hours, and we got calls from listeners as far away as Erie and northeastern Ohio (remember, this is 770 we're talking about!) One of the TV stations says they're coming next week, and as some of you may know, Candy and Mike from WLSW have joined 770 KFB and will be handling 1-3 PM starting February 1st. We're having fun! Keep listening, folks!
 
Re: Should Porky Chedwick be involved in the Super Bowl broadcast?

> But since the late 1960's, he's been a professional
> has-been. His ads in Billboard in the early 1970's begging
> for a job were embarrassing. When time passed him by, it was
> a sad thing.


I have no idea why you'd post something so mean-spirited about a man in his 80s(and, no, your qualifiers before and after this cruel putdown don't lessen this at all).

You may be interested to know there's been steady demand for Porky as a live DJ and MC even if his radio prospects haven't always been the best. And, btw, the latter has more to do with the blandness of radio and PDs who just don't "get" Pittsburgh.

Porky's had a tough life. He never made the money he should have and a lot of rotten people in and around the music business took advantage of him. They used his star power to draw crowds, then they took the money and ran. Porky's had too much personal tragedy, too, losing family members. In recent years, his eyesight has declined badly and he's nearly blind.

Yet you'd never know this from his upbeat presentation. He puts smiles on faces and makes sure people have a good time. Congratulations to 770 for putting him on the air -- and being smart enough to recognize what an attention-getting drawing card he'll be for their station.
 
Re: Should Porky Chedwick be involved in the Super Bowl broadcast?

> > But since the late 1960's, he's been a professional
> > has-been. His ads in Billboard in the early 1970's begging
>
> > for a job were embarrassing. When time passed him by, it
> was
> > a sad thing.
>
>
> I have no idea why you'd post something so mean-spirited
> about a man in his 80s(and, no, your qualifiers before and
> after this cruel putdown don't lessen this at all).
>
> You may be interested to know there's been steady demand for
> Porky as a live DJ and MC even if his radio prospects
> haven't always been the best. And, btw, the latter has more
> to do with the blandness of radio and PDs who just don't
> "get" Pittsburgh.
>
> Porky's had a tough life. He never made the money he should
> have and a lot of rotten people in and around the music
> business took advantage of him. They used his star power to
> draw crowds, then they took the money and ran. Porky's had
> too much personal tragedy, too, losing family members. In
> recent years, his eyesight has declined badly and he's
> nearly blind.
>
> Yet you'd never know this from his upbeat presentation. He
> puts smiles on faces and makes sure people have a good time.
> Congratulations to 770 for putting him on the air -- and
> being smart enough to recognize what an attention-getting
> drawing card he'll be for their station.

What can I tell you? Nostalgia sells. Not everyone likes it, but there's a large enough niche market to make a buck from it.

And has-beens seem to be big nowadays. Look at the celebreality shows on VH1. Look at how many people enjoy watching The Surreal Life, featuring has-beens long past their 15 minutes. Look at Danny Bonaduce's show on VH1. Look at how the has-beens of Doo Wop dominate WQED's programming.

If someone can figure out how to cash in on the public's demand for nostalgia, more power to them. And if people like seeing or hearing has-beens, and the has-beens enjoy returning to the spotlight, that's great, too.
 
Re: Should Porky Chedwick be involved in the Super Bowl broadcast?

> What can I tell you? Nostalgia sells. Not everyone likes it,
> but there's a large enough niche market to make a buck from
> it.
>
> And has-beens seem to be big nowadays. Look at the
> celebreality shows on VH1. Look at how many people enjoy
> watching The Surreal Life, featuring has-beens long past
> their 15 minutes. Look at Danny Bonaduce's show on VH1. Look
> at how the has-beens of Doo Wop dominate WQED's programming.
>
>
> If someone can figure out how to cash in on the public's
> demand for nostalgia, more power to them. And if people like
> seeing or hearing has-beens, and the has-beens enjoy
> returning to the spotlight, that's great, too.

This from the man who wants to bring back scripted and dramatic shows on todays radio, just like the old days.

I guess that's not nostalgia, since Realist likes it.
 
Re: Should Porky Chedwick be involved in the Super Bowl broadcast?

> > If someone can figure out how to cash in on the public's
> > demand for nostalgia, more power to them. And if people
> like
> > seeing or hearing has-beens, and the has-beens enjoy
> > returning to the spotlight, that's great, too.
>
> This from the man who wants to bring back scripted and
> dramatic shows on todays radio, just like the old days.
>
> I guess that's not nostalgia, since Realist likes it.

No, that would only be nostalgia if it were rebroadcasts of old recordings of shows from the Golden Age of radio. Or it it were remakes of old scripts from that era. Or dragging old, retired performers from the old performers home to recreate classic broadcasts of yesteryear would be nostalgia.

But twenty years ago when NPR broadcast the radio version of Star Wars, that was not nostalgia. It was a new story done by current actors. The BBC's radio version of Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy wasn't nostalgic, either.

Besides, I'm not advocating that every station should return to scripted comedies and dramas. But I do think that in most markets, one station could carve out a successful niche for itself if it ran modern, up-o-date, edgy scripted comedies and dramas. If someone would produce radio sitcoms that pushed the envelope the way that some modern TV sitcoms do today, that could become a new, viable programming option. Combine the bawdiness of Howard Stern's show with the skit formats from the 'DVE morning show, stretched out with a story and plot that takes an entire half hour, and you'd have something that wouldn't be nostalgia, and that might find an audience.

Of course, that would require many people with real talent working together to pull off. Which is why we'll never see that happen.
 
Re: Should Porky Chedwick be involved in the Super Bowl broadcast?

Radio Rancher said:
> But since the late 1960's, he's been a professional
> has-been. His ads in Billboard in the early 1970's begging
> for a job were embarrassing. When time passed him by, it was
> a sad thing.


I have no idea why you'd post something so mean-spirited about a man in his 80s(and, no, your qualifiers before and after this cruel putdown don't lessen this at all).

You may be interested to know there's been steady demand for Porky as a live DJ and MC even if his radio prospects haven't always been the best. And, btw, the latter has more to do with the blandness of radio and PDs who just don't "get" Pittsburgh.

Porky's had a tough life. He never made the money he should have and a lot of rotten people in and around the music business took advantage of him. They used his star power to draw crowds, then they took the money and ran. Porky's had too much personal tragedy, too, losing family members. In recent years, his eyesight has declined badly and he's nearly blind.

Yet you'd never know this from his upbeat presentation. He puts smiles on faces and makes sure people have a good time. Congratulations to 770 for putting him on the air -- and being smart enough to recognize what an attention-getting drawing card he'll be for their station.
Click to expand...

Let's not get too excited or take things out of context. We all know the Boss Man has been screwed by anybody and everybody in this business. It's terrible that he had to resort to putting ads in Billboard looking for work because Pittsburgh turned his back on him...despite all of his philanthropic efforts at raising money through the dances he held in his heyday. If you want an up-close and personal look at Porky Chedwick, check out Ed Weigle's story at 440.com under Porky Chedwick. Ed's managed to be closer to Porky from a journalistic standpoint better than anyone else, and though it doesn't answer every question, it'll showcase just how much Porky did for this community, and how little the industry did for him. He doesn't dwell on the wrongdoings of the past...though he has more than enough reason to. That's the best lesson anyone can learn from his legacy.
 
Brinkman's doing mid-days at small DFW area nostalgia AM, not CBS, however... a little mom-and-pop operation. If you could find him a place with a T-1 line you could probably get him to do something on the weekends.
 
I should mention in passing that Porky is no longer with the station (he was, technically speaking, not an employee). There was a falling out between Porky and Frankie Day, who was paying for the airtime, so the arrangement came to an end. I'm sorry to see him go - he is a true gentleman and a living legend, and working with him was a pleasure. Hope to see him back on the air somewhere soon.
 
So are all of the music shows on 770 pay-for-play?

I guess we should have seen that coming, given the ownership and what they do with 620.
 
Yes, the majority of the hours on 770 are brokered. WZUM did the same thing for a while and we even have some of the same DJs (Caveman Ralph, etc.) It is more profitable than just letting the automated music play, although we still do that in some hours.
 
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