When George Reccelle was growing up in McKeesport in the 1950s, he listened to legendary Pittsburgh disc jockey George “Porky” Chedwick on the Homestead radio station WAMO and fell in love with the music he heard.

“He played mostly African-American music on WAMO. He was a groundbreaker for playing that music,” when other radio stations disc jockeys played “middle of the road music,” said Reccelle, 82, an Irwin resident.

His teenage fascination with music never faded. While serving in the Navy aboard the USS Rockbridge in the early 1960s, he had a radio show on the ship, playing songs to a captive audience.

“I always had the itch to be a radio announcer,” Reccelle said. “Music is my addiction.”

Fast forward some six decades, and Reccelle — just like his radio disc jockey idol Chedwick — is enjoying himself playing those oldies. Reccelle keeps entertaining listeners of “Georgeo’s Oldies Cafe” on Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon on WKFB in North Versailles. Fans tune in to listen to songs by Elvis Presley and such legendary singers as Lou Christie, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Darrin and Bobby Rydell, and groups such as Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners, the Marcelles and the Del Vikings.

“There is so much to be said about local music, but it is being neglected,” Reccelle said.

He and fellow Irwin resident Gary Ed, serving as announcer and commentator, have been playing the music for the past five years on WKFB. Reccelle started the show in 1996 at WLSW, and Ed has been with him on the show the past 10 years, spanning both radio stations.

“It’s been a journey for both of us,” Ed said of working with Reccelle.

“We both bicker back and forth on the air, and people love it. People tell us we put a smile on their face on Sunday mornings,” Ed said.

Reccelle is not surprised that the songs he plays and loves remain popular among radio listeners in the region.

“The heartland of the oldies is right here in Pittsburgh,” Reccelle said. “The music today leaves a lot to be desired.”

To Reccelle, the songs he plays might be more than 60 years old, but “oldies are not a thing of the past.”

“The oldies keep you young,” Reccelle said.

Radio start

As much as he loved to play those songs when he was a young man, Reccelle said he had to earn money after leaving the Navy so he could support his family.

He sold shoes in stores at what was then a new Eastland Shopping Plaza in North Versailles. He also owned the Happy Trails Auto Sales, a used-car dealership along Center Highway in North Huntingdon. Ever the entrepreneur, he opened George’s Gourmet Candies in 1996 in downtown Irwin.

“Selling cars was my livelihood. This (playing oldies) is my passion. This is a labor of love,” Reccelle said.

Using the GI Bill to further his education, Reccelle chose to learn about radio announcing by being trained through the Columbia School of Broadcasting, rather than going to a local college. He recalls receiving albums in the mail from Columbia School of Broadcasting, then doing the announcing of the songs and returning them to the school to be graded.

“My desire was to do it (radio announcing) at (age) 25, but it happened when I was 55,” Reccelle said.

He juggled operating his businesses with the responsibilities of doing a radio show in 1996 on WLSW in the Connellsville area. Station owner Stan Wall needed someone to host a morning show, and Reccelle wanted to do it.

His disc jockey duties are not confined to the radio station. Reccelle said he has played at the popular car cruise in Irwin for 30 years.

Not only does he play the old records, but Reccelle also sings them with Ed as a duo known as the “G-Boyz,” Reccelle said. They perform at senior citizens apartments and nursing homes.

“It’s a blessing. Not just for them, but for us,” Reccelle said.

He has no plans to end his stint in the radio playing oldies.

“As long as I can breathe, as long as I can walk, I still will play my oldies.”

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