THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

For the tens of thousands of Chicagoans who listen to WXRT's morning show, the name Terri Hemmert is literally music to their ears. Indeed, Hemmert has attained legendary status in the world of Chicago radio and apparently rightfully so. The redoubtable Hemmert has devoted a considerable part of her adult life perfecting her craft and her loyal followers will tell you that she still rocks after an amazing 28 years of delivering a well-crafted melange of talk, tunes and musical nostalgia.

There is no denying the fact that Hemmert is a pioneer in the annals of Chicago pop radio. Terri was the first female morning drive personality in the Windy City as of 1981. She began her career at WXRT in 1973, starting out as Public Affairs Director and overnight announcer.

Prior to joining XRT, Hemmert was an on-air personality at WCMF in Rochester, NY and also served as Program Coordinator for WGLD ( currently WVAZ ) in Chicago.

What is undeniably fascinating about Hemmert is that she is as much a fan as she is a celebrity in her own right. Easygoing and rather spiritual and thoughtful in person, Hemmert has been tagged the Beatles' "No. 1" fan and can wax poetic on the Fab Four with the best of them. Terri has proudly hosted the "Chicago Beatlefest" for some 20 years. She has also taught courses on "The History of Rock and Soul" in the Broadcasting Department of Columbia College for more than 20 years.

A mentor and humanitarian, Hemmert serves on the advisory board of WRSE-FM, which is the Elmhurst College student radio station. Terri is also an active volunteer with the AIDS Pastoral Care Network and St. Clement's Church. She works on music education programs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra including this spring's "Classic Encounter" series that she is hosting to promote the works of classical greats like Beethoven, Bartok and Britten to younger audiences. Terri volunteers with both the Inner City Teaching Corps and the Latin School.

A graduate of Elmhurst College with a BA in Speech, Hemmert was born in Piqua, Ohio but considers herself a die-hard Chicagoan and is proud of the fact. She has been a past board member of The Peace Museum, Facets Multimedia and other not-for-profit groups. It was an interesting and nostalgic afternoon I recently shared with Hemmert when I met with her after the 9 a.m. to noon morning show, which she has hosted at XRT since 1992.

WCT: It's my understanding that you've been with WXRT for over 20 years. Is that pretty accurate?

TH: It's 28 now. I know, can you believe it?

WCT: Wow!

TH: ( Terri laughs ) Yeah, we're aiming for 30 now.

WCT: You are also on the advisory board of the Elmhurst College student radio station.

TH: That's where I got my start. It's my way of paying back.

WCT: You've hosted the Chicago Beatlefest for 20 years. What do you do at the Beatlefest?

TH: I'm the emcee, as I call it the camp counselor, because it's like summer camp for Beatle fans. I'm on stage almost the whole time doing everything from interviewing the guests, to giving door prizes, to introducing the bands that play at the battle of the Beatle bands, helping with the auctions.

WCT: What kinds of things do you auction off?

TH: A lot of rare Beatle items. Some autographs, some collectible things, something for every budget. You know, there are some things that are not that expensive and there are some things that cost thousands of dollars. I can't afford it, but I love looking at it. ( Terri laughs ) . Sometimes modeling stuff, once in a while there will be a goofy hat or something.

WCT: We often hear about the "revolving door" of people in the media, particularly in radio. Yet you've been at XRT almost three decades. That's pretty amazing. I've heard that in Chicago, both in TV and radio, people stay. They're more committed. Would you agree?

TH: Yeah, Chicago's different. Well look at a lot of the people here ( at XRT ) that have been here for 20 years, you know, which is unusual. And unfortunately I overshadow them because I got here first and you know I'm always setting the bar. And they go, "Oh, you know it's only been 20 years for me, you know, she's already at 28." Which is too bad because if they were anywhere else they'd be, like an anomaly. You know, they'd be getting attention for that. But Chicago's a great city to work in media, and some people would think that it would be a stepping stone to New York or LA but a lot of people choose to stay here. I mean I would not take a job offer from New York or LA, forget it. And if it came to a point where my radio career came crashing down I would stay in Chicago and do something else. Chicago's important to me. It's home.

WCT: You love the TV soaps, Terri?

TH: Yeah, I sure do.

WCT: Which is your favorite one?

TH: All My Children. I'm an ABC gal; I watch One Life To Live and General Hospital. You know, it's good for computer work. I spend a lot of time working on the computer, and soaps are great cause it's like baseball. ( I laugh ) You don't have to watch every single minute. I can't put a movie on because if you slip away you miss something. It's more subtle than that, but soaps are great.

WCT: How did you get interested in radio? Did you always want to be a DJ?

TH: Since high school. Yeah, which was kind of a weird career goal because there were no women disc jockeys back then in the '60s. The reason I got into it was because I loved music from day one. I have a picture of me at home at the age of four sitting with my Bozo The Clown record player looking like a disc jockey, like I'm doing a show with my records all stacked up neatly. ( We both chuckle ) I always listened to a lot of music at home; I always had the record player going. And would even program to the family, you know I'd play something I know my Mom would like, something for my brother, something for me. And so I had this instinct even then. But it was actually strange but true I saw a picture of a disc jockey interviewing Ringo when I was in high school and I thought, "wow, that's how I could meet the Beatles if I became a disc jockey." And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense cause I listen to the radio all the time, top 40 radio. I knew who was No. 1 that week and I was a music nerd basically. So when I started picking a career in college, I thought, well, my chances are slim to none, so I majored in speech so I had something to fall back on; I could always teach. And so I get to do both. The best of both worlds for now. But I did pick Elmhurst College because they had a good radio station and I thought at least I'll check it out and see if I have the talent. And it's one of those things you don't know until you've tried it, you know? You can't sit in your bedroom and do a radio show and then think, "ooh I got it!" What is that about? So I checked it out and I did four years of college radio there and I really had the bug. I mean, I didn't want to do anything else. It's kind of like wanting to be in the circus or something. I was lucky, because you know not everybody has that, you know where you know exactly what you want to do in your life. And the great thing for me with radio is even though I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I wanted to get into it, it's become even bigger than I imagined or hoped.

WCT: Do you like having the title of being The Beatles' No. 1 fan?

TH: I'm a big fan, yes. I don't ever like to claim to be the best. I'm the tallest, maybe. I'll go with the tallest. ( We both laugh ) I'm a fan. And I'm still a fan, and that's why I got into this business. I haven't lost that, I mean my affection for The Beatles runs deep.

WCT: Have you met all The Beatles?

TH: No. I've met Paul several times and Ringo a couple of times. And then of course with The BeatleFest I've gotten to know everybody who ever worked with them or has been married to them or whatever.

WCT: You've met Yoko?

TH: Oh, yeah. Several times. Yeah, I've worked with Yoko on some projects. She's been great; we worked with The Peace Museum here in Chicago. She's been fantastic, and I've interviewed her too representing WXRT and she couldn't have been nicer. I worked with her several times, and she'd always remember me and be very friendly, I was really impressed.

WCT: As a Beatles fan, do you think that Yoko Ono took a lot of unfair hits because of her involvement with John Lennon?

TH: Oh, yeah! Well, you know they blamed her for the breakup and that's a load of crap because The Beatles broke up The Beatles, no outside person could have done that. They were ready to break up. And you know I think there's some racism there. You know, being Japanese and being a strong woman. And she's a feminist, she got John to be a feminist. She moved him from being a jerky Northern England macho guy to a feminist. And I think anybody that makes my hero ( John Lennon ) that happy is OK in my book. He obviously was very happy with her. You know what I was saying before about "is that all there is," Lennon especially influenced me into doing something. Once you succeed, what do you do with it? He influenced me as far as getting involved in trying to make a change and trying to make the world better than when you first checked in. None of us have all the answers, and we can't change the world overnight, but I'm an eternal optimist that we all do make a difference.

WCT: Terri, I know you've done a lot of work with AIDS patients, that this is a cause you really believe in. How has your position as a celebrity with your own show helped you to reach out in this regard?

TH: I've found that with radio, when you least expect it, you're affecting someone. You know one of the most incredible things that ever happened to me was when a young man called me. I had just played a song that I had played many times before called "Don't Give Up" by Peter Gabriel. This boy ( that called ) was on his way to being tested for HIV that day. He got dressed and he was sitting on the couch and he was very depressed, and he heard that song. And he'd heard it before, but it was like he'd heard it for the first time. He called to say "I'm getting ready to go and get tested. I'm terrified but that song reached me in a very profound way. And I know that no matter what I find out, I'm not going to give up. I'm going to deal with whatever comes my way." And I said, "Could you please let me know how the test turns out?" And he called a few days later and said "I'm OK." And he said, "But even if I wasn't, that song has given me a new lease on life and I'm not going to take anything for granted." And I just thought, I played that song not knowing, you never know. I mean, you throw it out there. And that's the magic of music. You just never know. I'm just the facilitator, but to hear back from this guy and you think of all the times it's ( the song ) has touched people and affected people and you don't even know it. It may be something I said off hand. I try not to get on the air and be pompous and like I'm going to change the world, that's a load of crap. But I know sometimes that just my attitude makes a difference. Especially in radio, because radio's gotten so nasty. You know the shock jocks and all that. Making fun of people and hurting people. And I just think there's another way to entertain and amuse. And my other coworkers here at XRT are the same. We try to entertain and amuse people without cutting somebody down. You know, it's cool to be nice.

WCT: Terri, what in your opinion was the greatest contribution that The Beatles made to pop music?

TH: I think the fact that they were always changing. That they always tried to do something new. You go to listen to all their albums and every single album moves forward somehow. They were one of the first ( groups ) to introduce the classical influence to rock music. One of the first to make lyrics meaningful. Not just "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," but "In My Life." That was in two short years. In less than two years they made that evolution. And I think that one of the reasons they're still so popular is that they had so much integrity. They really did. As musicians and the way that they conducted themselves, fantastic. Especially when you look at the field and see the way other people have fallen.

You know, and it's not that they were perfect, that they didn't make mistakes. They're human. But I think that when you look at their body of work and the way that they conducted themselves, it's amazing. No other group has had the kind of impact, not only on music, but on society in general. You know, you look at The Beatles; they influenced culture. I mean even if I wasn't a Beatles fan I'd have to acknowledge that. That they really did change the way we see the world; they verbalized that for us.

WCT: Who is your favorite Beatle, Terri?

TH: John. From day one. I just fell in love with him. I was totally blown away. "Twist and Shout" on Ed Sullivan did it for me. I mean, the intensity of that and the way he sang, it was just incredible. The best R & B cover I've heard since Elvis. Also the more I knew about him then too, I liked the fact that he was a writer, that he was a bit sarcastic, and he had a great sense of humor. But he seemed to be the one who was always questioning things. He wasn't complacent. I liked that.

WCT: As the first woman in Chicago to have a morning drive in show on radio, did you encounter people who thought you couldn't make it? How were you initially received?

TH: Well I tell my students out at Columbia that I had people tell me that I didn't have what it takes to make it in radio. Or women, there's no place for women in radio. And if I'd listened to them, where would I be now? You know, and where are they, even more importantly? You know those guys are gone, they're losers. They're not around making decisions anymore. But you can't let that get you down because there's a lot of discrimination out there still, whether it be, you know, about gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, whatever. There's discrimination; it's just subtler now because people don't want lawsuits. But on the other hand, I counsel a lot of minority students. And I think it's important that they not just fall back on that and say, "Well I didn't get that promotion, or I didn't get that job because of my minority status." Be careful of that too because that can be a trap and you never hear the critical things you need to hear to grow and to get better. But it's a tightrope walk. I mean, who's to say when you're being discriminated against and when legitimately you're not ready for a certain position?

WCT: I understand you've been a prominent activist in the ongoing battle against AIDS and we've already touched on this subject. But could you tell us about some of the activities you've been involved in or leant your name to?

TH: Well, I've done a lot of benefits for AIDS organizations, especially the AIDS Pastoral Care Network, that's one I'm actually an active volunteer for. But a lot of what I do is on a personal level. Just through friends I've known and I don't want to go into too much detail, but I've had friends die of AIDS. And I've been a caregiver and gone on that journey with them. And it's made that issue close to home for me so when I am called upon to do a benefit, like I've helped MC. Dean Richards and I have done the AIDS Walk Chicago for many years. And Johnny Mars, one of our DJs here, did the AIDS Ride from Minneapolis last year. So I think when we're called to help, this is an issue we feel very strong about. And the station, too, is very involved with the AIDS Walk; it's been one of the corporate sponsors. And also one of our CDs, the "On XRT" CDs we put out, the proceeds went to Chicago House one year. So even on a company level, AIDS is an issue that I think has touched a lot of people. I've lost a lot of people I love to AIDS, and I've tried to take what I've learned from that and turn it around and help, do what I can on a personal level and on a professional level. To me, the stuff that's really important is what I do in my personal life. I've had a client through the AIDS Pastoral Network and we've been together for nearly ten years.

WCT: Is homophobia a problem in radio? Is it a problem at WXRT?

TH: No, not at all. At XRT at least. It's a problem in radio like it's a problem anywhere else. Any phobias, any isms are around. One of the reasons I've stayed here ( at XRT ) is that it's a cool place to be. The people I work with and the people I work for are people I love and respect. There's not one single person here that's a jerk or a bigot in any way. And that's great. And that's one of the reasons I like staying here. It's a quality of life issue for me, you know?

WCT: I've found that sometimes when you reach a certain age and you're not married in the traditional sense, people make assumptions about your situation. Is that a problem for you, you're a single person are you, Terri?

TH: Well you know my thing is that some things aren't peoples' business. You know, and I just live my life. And if people want to speculate and guess or comment then have at it. I'm not part of the dialogue there.

WCT: What are the biggest challenges facing the gay and lesbian community today from your perspective, Terri?

TH: Wow! Where do I begin? I think that you have to convert people in reasonable ways. Legislation isn't enough. In-your-face is important. Demonstrating outside the Grammys is important. All that kind of stuff is important. People coming out are important. People choosing not to come out and people respecting that are important. I think across the board that's all important. Even deeper than that is that sense of conversion. That sense of changing people's hearts and minds. And I think that comes slow and it comes delicately. And I think the more well intentioned but ill-informed people who have some sense of fear and homophobia, when they're exposed to people in their ( own ) families and friends, and to characters in the media who aren't stereotypical or one-dimensional, I think that changes people. And I think that the community needs to keep fostering that kind of sort of a loving, persuasive side too, as well as the militant side.

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I'm not a morning person, and I guess I'll never be. But I can tell you it's really nice to hear Terri Hemmert's voice at 9 a.m. on XRT, serving up tunes, rekindling memories and delivering her own personal brand of humor. She's like an old friend, a member of the family. And I guess it's safe to say that for countless numbers of avid radio listeners, both young and old, she's more than the Beatles' best fan, more than a pioneer in Chicago radio and a consummate humanitarian. She is, for many, a Chicago institution.

Terri Hemmert hosts the morning show on WXRT FM 93.1 from 9 a.m. to Noon Monday-Friday.

E-mail: DavdRonald@aol.com