Q&A With Terri Hemmert

When she worked at the Elmhurst College radio station in the late 1960s, Terri Hemmert dreamed of becoming a Chicago disc jockey, even though it was a field largely closed to women at that time. But in 1972 she got a job at WXRT as an overnight announcer and Public Affairs Director, and when asked early on to fill in as a drive-time host for a few weeks, Hemmert became the first female drive-time DJ for a rock music station in Chicago. She never looked back, launching a radio career that has spanned more than 50 years and which has esconced her as the widely recognized Queen of Chicago rock and roll radio. Her love of the Beatles is particularly well known, and she still hosts Breakfast with the Beatles on XRT each Sunday morning from 8 to 10 a.m.

You grew up in the small town of Piqua, Ohio — tell us a little about those early years. What were your interests as a kid? Any especially fond memories growing up?

TH: I love Piqua. I still visit. Still have a lot of friends there. It was a mixed bag growing up. I was bullied a lot in grade school for being too tall — I’m 6’ 1” now — and even walking down the street would be yelled at. Always from a moving car, but it still hurt. Changed schools in 8th grade. Totally different. Made a lot of friends and came out of my shell. Sang in several choirs, played French horn in band and orchestra and a quartet. Started an all-girl rock band. Had great parents and siblings. And lots of adult mentors. Loved baseball. Roy Campanella was my favorite. I loved reading and his biography made me aware how deep racism ran in our country. Had many health setbacks and lots of time spent in the hospital. Campy wrote a book about being in a car crash that put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He taught me how to deal with my own challenges.

Any significant experiences, mentors or achievements during your school years that significantly influenced you?

TH: My mother was a musician and I got the music bug before I went to kindergarten. But it was seeing the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan’s show that changed my life. I had never seen a rock group before that didn’t look over-rehearsed and phony. They looked natural and you could tell they were having a blast. One night Lennon sang their cover of The Isley Brothers’ Twist and Shout. I’ve been a John girl ever since.

My freshman year in high school I took a Speech class taught by Miss Butcher. I was very shy and terrified to get up and speak, but by the end of the semester my speech was the only one that got applause. I only got to take one semester of Speech because I was out for six months with rheumatic fever. But I decided that if in one semester Miss Butcher could do that for me, I wanted to be a speech teacher, too. So that’s what I majored in at Elmhurst College.

While still in Piqua, my parents urged me to do volunteer work. Sophomore year they started a Junior Achievement program in town and I signed up. Senior year I was voted president of our company and out of 52 companies was chosen President of the Year for the Dayton chapter. First woman to win that. I had to give some speeches in Dayton. This is why I think kids need opportunities to challenge themselves and push through their fears.

So how did a small town Ohio girl end up going to Elmhurst College?

TH: A friend of mine in Piqua who was a year older than me went to Elmhurst. She invited me to Elmhurst for a weekend for high school students to check out the school. She let me stay in her dorm room! That was fun. I didn’t want to go home. If Harvard had offered me a scholarship, I would have stuck with Elmhurst. Four amazing years. I checked out the WRSE studios. Unlike some schools, it looked like a real radio station. Met Dr. Low who would be my faculty advisor and friend for life. And Tom Teuber, a freshman showing us the studio. He ended up hiring me to do the all night shift at WCMF in Rochester, New York. My first full time air shift. Was close to both till their passings. Tom was also the “manager” of The Buckets, a group of four of us who wanted to do for girl groups what The Beatles did for rock and roll. Also lifelong friends. Just talked to one yesterday. Sophomore year all of The Buckets ended up on academic probation. We were busy. After Dr. King was murdered they offered black studies in many subjects. Literature, history, etc. I felt I had some catching up to do, so I minored in it. I took it seriously and ended up on the deans list. A few years ago Elmhurst gave me an honorary doctorate so it all worked out well.

You have said your experience at the college radio station was the true launching board for your career. What was a late 1960s college radio station like and how did you fit in initially?

TH: Well I was aware of sexism as a child wanting to play sports and be a priest. So when I showed up and said I wanted to do a rock show, I was told girls couldn’t do a rock show and they put me on a “Mood Music” show. Remember the music they used to pipe into elevators? Ick. So I started playing The Living Strings Play Lennon & McCartney album and reading poetry over it. Got noticed. I finally got my one hour a week rock show. Then I did an R&B show, The Jolly Green Thing. Sweet soul music. I could talk right up to the vocals. I was invited to a Black Students Reunion a few years ago. No one called me Terri, or Hemmert. It was Jolly Green. All weekend. The hecklers in Piqua used to yell out the jingle for Green Giant veggies. I decided to turn it into a positive thing. Take a sad song and make it better.

When you graduated, you had hoped to get a radio job in the Chicago area, but that was difficult at the time, especially for a woman. You moved to an apartment in Oak Park and eventually got a job at WGLD. What did your job entail and what was your brief stint in Rochester, NY like?

TH: I got an apartment four blocks from the Oak Park Arms, which was then a hotel, now it’s a senior facility. I couldn’t afford a car, so I wanted to walk to work, and GLD’s studios were in the penthouse of the hotel. My first job was answering the request line. With my college education. In a walk-in closet. I slowly worked my way up to working for the Program Director, and doing occasional fill-ins. I was learning a lot, getting free records and going to a lot of concerts. A couple of great years. But the station manager once told me I didn’t have what it took to be on the air, so I finally accepted an offer for a job in Rochester. I was on six hours a night, six nights a week. I learned my craft. There was a gospel show when I signed off at 6. Sometimes the DJ overslept and I would fill in the first 20 minutes. I love gospel music. I’d change hats and became Sister Terri. Actually got a whole new audience then.

How did you become the first woman drive-time host for a rock station in Chicago? Your early years at the station were some of the golden years of rock. What was it like?

TH: I never wanted to do morning drive. I liked the mid-day shift. More focus on the music. Our morning DJ left without a warning. I was asked to do it for four weeks and four weeks turned into 11 years. It was great but exhausting. Thank goodness Lin Brehmer rescued me from that. The good part of the job is I got to know a lot of my musical heroes in the emerging punk rock and new wave scene. Hung out with Bryan Ferry, The Talking Heads, Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie, Squeeze, English Beat, Bob Marley and many others. And I got to know my heroes: Mavis and Yvonne Staples, Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, Otis Clay, Lonnie and Ronnie Brooks, Tyrone Davis, Shemekia Copeland and others. All lovely people.

At the same time, the behind the scenes of the radio business back then was less than glamorous, especially since WXRT was still a fairly new station at that time. What was the work environment like in terms of the studio itself and being one of the only women in a male dominated business?

TH: We worked in a dump for decades with equipment that would embarrass a college station. Driving out to Belmont and Cicero was not fun. But unlike other stations, the air staff at XRT was always tight. There was no sexism on the air staff. We loved each other. Truly. At a lot of stations, the air staff is a cesspool of egos gone wild. Not a team at all. At XRT, we all had each other’s back. When Lin died it knocked us all to our knees. He was such a great guy to work with and never acted like he was the king of the airwaves. We all looked out for each other for half a century. It was like a family.

You have been on the radio for more than 50 years now. How has radio changed over the years, and do you feel it’s been for the worse or better? Same question about music, do you think the quality is better or worse now, or just different

TH: Radio has always changed a lot. That’s life. Things change. But I think when they did away with ownership limits — and radio is now run by a very few companies — that has dealt a blow. But the bosses I’ve had the last few years with the corporation have been wonderful to work with. I have taught for many years at Columbia College and last fall semester, none of my students knew who I was. They don’t listen to the radio. Some of that is radio’s fault, but technology is really to blame. There are so many more options. It’s hurt the whole music business. Artists can’t live on their streaming fees. But people still download music, or better yet go to their neighborhood record store, and they still go to concerts. And some still listen to the radio. When I meet listeners that have been tuned into XRT for 10 to 50 years, that is amazing. Our listeners’ loyalty touches my heart. They helped give birth to our station and they have it on when they drive to bury their parent. I know. I hold all of their stories close to my heart.

Any key mentors who influenced you?

TH: Radio was my connection to the big city of Dayton, and all of the great music that was released in the 50s and 60s. On WING in Dayton, this DJ, Gene “By Golly” Barry, Clean Gene and his record machine, played a lot of R&B on his show, and his passion for the music was authentic. And contagious. I met him years later, when I was at XRT, and told him what an influence he was to me. He was very sweet. He got it. He played The Chiffons for me. One Fine Day. I’ll never forget it. Then there was the DJ I saw pictured in a magazine interviewing Ringo Starr, That picture gave this 15 year old fan the dream to become a DJ to meet the Beatles. That DJ, Jim Stagg, moved to Chicago to WCFL when I moved to Elmhurst. I met him a few times when I was in college. He was always very nice and encouraging. When I asked if I was fooling myself that I could make it as a woman in the business, he said, “Be the first one.” Years later, when I was doing morning drive and he was running his store, Record City, I requested a lunch. He didn’t know I was that same kid that came to him for much needed encouragement.

Over all these years and with all the other artists/bands that have come and gone since, why are the Beatles still so special to you — as reflected in your continuing to host Breakfast with the Beatles on Sunday mornings from 8 to 10 a.m.?

TH: As John Lennon sang in Imagine, “I’m not the only one.” As a Beatles fan, I’m not the only one. Last weekend I hosted another Fest For Beatles Fans. We’re getting close to the 50 year mark. People of all ages. Some of the musicians in the talent show are teenagers, like I was when The Beatles came into my life. The Beatles are authentic. Their music. Their humanity. They were different. They truly changed the world. And unlike a lot of less popular rock stars, they are in awe of the magic they made happen. A magic that changed so many of our lives. Like I told Ringo, thanks for giving me my dream. OMG. It’s been an amazing life and worth the crap I had to put up with. I’d do it all again. Beatle music is such a part of our lives.

What are your interests outside of radio? Causes that are close to your heart? Life priorities?

TH: Well I’m old (76) and tired from all of the health drama I’ve lived through. Mobility is now an issue and pain is a problem that never goes away. But I’m happy. I miss walking around this beautiful city, and it has made traveling difficult. But I still make it to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival every year. Can’t move like I used to but just give me my seat in the Gospel Tent and the Economy Hall Jazz Tent and bring me some Crawfish Monica and I’m in heaven. I found a parish in 1981 when I really needed it and its a big part of my life and has given me a goldmine of marvelous friends. I used to be in the choir, and have hooked up with a lot of volunteer opportunities. I go to a lot of funerals, and kids’ sports games and piano recitals. I learned that it’s important to show up. I’m still working with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with its Classic Encounter program. My mother taught me that being a music teacher is as good as life gets — that music changes lives. I’ll up the ante. Music saves lives.

You were inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2010 and have received many other awards. Looking back, what awards or achievements are most meaningful to you and why?

TH: I kept my Piqua High School Bowling trophy to keep me honest with the other trophies. It meant a lot to me to get a lifetime Grammy award, along with Ramsey Lewis, Lonnie Brooks, and Steve Albini. And a lot of trophies I treasure for my work with AIDS patients back in the 80s. And WXRT now broadcasts from the Terri Hemmert Studios, which they named after me. That meant a lot. From family.