Obituary
Phyllis Campbell, ‘Mama Jazz’ on Ohio’s WMUB, dies at 89
Phyllis Campbell, known to public radio listeners in southwestern Ohio as “Mama Jazz,” died Nov. 27. She was 89.
“For nearly 30 years, jazz fans tuned in to hear her laid-back approach to jazz and her unique delivery,” WMUB-FM said on its website. “At the height of its popularity the Mama Jazz show was four hours long and ran live five nights a week.”
Campbell first became involved with the station during a late-1970s pledge drive, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. When WMUB-FM staffer Lee Hay heard her stories about Duke Ellington’s sax player Flip Phillips and other musicians, she encouraged her to host a show, which debuted in 1979.
“She was feisty as all get-out, passionately devoted to jazz, and unabashedly loyal to her legions of fans,” Cleve Callison, a former WMUB-FM general manager, told the Enquirer.
The station said Campbell “mentored countless board operators over the years and liked to say WMUB stood for ‘With Mama Until Bedtime.’”
She was born May 14, 1922, daughter of Clyde and Mary Ashman. She graduated from 1940 Eaton High School in 1940 and attended Miami University. She joined the staff of Miami University in 1967 where she worked in the personnel and guidance department and graduate school retiring in 1994.
Campbell was preceded in death by two brothers, Robert and Richard Ashman. She is survived by her husband of 68 years, William H. Campbell of Eaton, Ohio; sons, Perry (Vera) Campbell and William (Becky) Campbell; daughters, Jane Campbell Gordon and Gail Campbell; a brother, William Ashman; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Barnes Funeral Home (220 E. Main St., Eaton, OH 45320) handled arrangements.
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