Died On This Date (November 26, 2011) Phyllis Campbell / aka Mama Jazz; Popular Radio Host
themusicsover Phyllis Campbell
DOB Unknown – November 26, 2011
Known as “Mama Jazz” to fans throughout Southwest Ohio, Phyllis Campbell was a longtime on-air personality at WMUB-FM out of Miami University. A lifelong fan of jazz, Campbell was working at the school as a secretary when she dropped by the station during a fund raiser to talk music. Within a few hours, she was offered a job. Since 1979, Campbell has built a legion of fans thanks in part to her eclectic playlists on such programs as “Traditional Jazz Night” and “The Gospel According to Mama.” All the while, Campbell retained her “day job” at the University, often putting in over 60 hours a week between the two gigs. She retired from her administrative job in 1994 but continued on air until health issues brought that to a close in 2006. Phyllis Campbell was 89 when she passed away on November 26, 2011.
Ross MacManus was an English musician and singer who made his mark performing with the Joe Loss Orchestra beginning in 1955. He had several children, including pop music icon, Elvis Costello. For a decade beginning in 1973, MacManus could be heard on British television singing the jingle he penned for R. White’s Lemonade. A young Costello is featured playing drums and singing back-up on the track. MacManus also sang and penned several songs for the British film, Secrets of a Superstud (1975). In 1997, he released the album Elvis’ Dad Sings Elvis, but in this case the Elvis he honored was 
Yvonne Fasnacht was an accomplished New Orleans clarinet and saxophone player, as well as the proprietor of Dixie’s Bar Of Music, one of the city’s most revered jazz clubs. Fasnacht first learned to play her instruments while attending trade school, and before she knew it, she was playing in such all girl outfits as Southland Rhythm Girls and the Smart Set. These gigs afforded her the opportunity to tour the US and even appear in a Hollywood short film. In 1949, Fasnacht opened Dixie’s Bar of Music which quickly became one of New Orleans’ hottest clubs where rich and poor; gay and straight; and celebrity and common folk could all co-mingle and have a good time. The club has been cited as one of the country’s first openly gay bars, and it was Fasnacht who created a safe and accepting environment, even in the face of local authorities who raided the joint fairly regularly. The club, which operated until 1964, became a magnet for Hollywood elite as well. It was not uncommon to find the likes of Truman Capote, Rock Hudson, Gore Vidal, or Danny Kaye sitting at a table. The club’s place in New Orleans history is so well-regarded, that the 35-foot mural of jazz greats that hung on one of its walls is now on display at the New Orleans US Mint as part of the Louisiana State Museum. As reported by