Legendary disc jockey Terri Hemmert is celebrating her 50th anniversary at WXRT-FM. Starting as an overnight announcer and public affairs director in 1973, she became Chicago’s first female morning-drive personality in 1981. In 2002, she became host of “Breakfast with the Beatles,” from 8 to 10 a.m. on Sundays. She was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2010.
Before joining WXRT, Hemmert was an on-air personality at WCMF-FM in Rochester, New York, and also served as program coordinator for WGLD-FM (currently WVAZ-FM) in Chicago.
She has served on the board of directors of Chicago’s Peace Museum, Facets Multimedia and other not-for-profit groups. She also serves on the advisory board of WRSE-FM, the student radio station of Elmhurst College, her alma mater. She was also a volunteer with the AIDS Pastoral Care Network for 10 years and is an active current member at St. Clement Catholic Church.
She teaches a course in the history of rock and soul in the broadcasting department of Columbia College Chicago, where she has been an instructor for more than 40 years, and was an adviser at the student radio station, WCRX-FM. Hemmert has volunteered with the Inner City Teaching Corps, Latin School of Chicago and other schools, teaching classes on the roots of rap, women in music, classical music’s influence on rock and soul, and other musical topics. She works on music education programs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and hosts the CSO’s Classic Encounter series.
Hemmert has hosted Chicago’s Fest for Beatles Fans for more than 40 years. In her spare time, she loves writing about life and music on her public Facebook page, reading, listening to music, being aunt to countless kids and visiting her family in Ohio.
A resident of Chicago, Hemmert graduated from Elmhurst College with a bachelor of arts in speech. In 2017, she received an honorary doctorate from Elmhurst.
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
