Terri Hemmert (born April 28, 1948) is an American radio personality,

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

, and instructor at Columbia College Chicago. She is a long-term presence at

WXRT-FM WXRT (93.1 FM), also known as XRT and 93-XRT is an adult album alternative (AAA) radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years, their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". "Chicago's Home For Music Lovers" has been used as its slogan si ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

where she became the first female

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cl ...

host for a rock music station in the Chicago radio market. She is known as an expert on

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

and hosts the weekly ''Breakfast with the Beatles'' program and has been featured speaker at many Beatles conventions worldwide. Hemmert grew up in

Piqua, Ohio Piqua ( ) is a city in Miami County, southwest Ohio, United States, 27 miles north of Dayton. The population was 20,522 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded as the village of Washington in ...

. As a youth she saw The Beatles on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

'' and was inspired to set her sights on a career as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

as a potential way to meet her idols. She maintained her interest in pop and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

music through her teens and enrolled at

Elmhurst College Elmhurst University is a private university in Elmhurst, Illinois. It has a tradition of service-oriented learning and an affiliation with the United Church of Christ. The university changed its name from Elmhurst College on July 1, 2020. Hist ...

where she wrote for campus publications and worked at the college radio station WRSE; she received a bachelor's degree in Speech in 1970. After a stint as a late-night

WCMF WCMF-FM (96.5 MHz) is a radio station located in the Rochester, New York, area. Its transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill in Brighton, Monroe County, and its studios are located at High Falls Studios in downtown Rochester. WCMF is a heritage ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

she returned to the Midwest and, in 1973, joined fledgling

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

station WXRT in Chicago as Public Affairs Director and overnight announcer. Hemmert's career and popularity grew along with that of the station and by 1981 she was the morning drive-time personality for the highly rated station. Hemmert became the regular celebrity host for the Chicago-area Beatlefest beginning in 1979. Also in the late 1970s she began a long association with Columbia College, where she taught music history and radio classes. Hemmert has been active in social and political causes and sits on the board of directors for The Peace Museum and

Facets Multimedia Facets Multi-Media founded in 1975, is a non-profit, 501(C)3 organization, and a leading national media arts organization. Its mission is to preserve, present, distribute, and educate about film. Besides its facilities at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Ch ...

. Hemmert was featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Rock and Radio" exhibit and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago chapter of the

Recording Academy The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

. Though she has been known for her avid love of The Beatles, Hemmert also lists

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

, and Marvin Gaye among her other favorite musicians. In celebration of her 40 years at WXRT, Mayor

Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...

made a surprise visit to WXRT studios to declare December 18, 2013 "Terri Hemmert Day" in the City of Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemmert, Terri People from Piqua, Ohio Radio personalities from Chicago 1948 births Living people