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- Online Obituary - Prominent jazz, big-band drummer Campbell dies - Tuesday, March 31, 1998 | 10:21 a.m. - Jazz drummer Jimmy Campbell may best be remembered for his energetic and lengthy solo on the recording of "The Big Chase" which was featured on Stan Kenton's 1959 "Road Show " album. But Campbell, who idolized Woody Herman Orchestra drummer Davey Tough, shared his philosophy that "drums should be felt and not heard." In short, Campbell did not like to do drum solos. Despite not seeking that kind of limelight, the Las Vegas resident of 30 years became one of the most sought-after drummers in the business and appeared with numerous jazz groups and big bands in a career that spanned five decades. James Lawrence "Jimmy" Campbell, the original drummer for "Hello Dolly" on Broadway who later worked nearly every Las Vegas lounge and showroom from the late 1960s to the late '80s, died Friday at University Medical Center. He was 69. The cause was respiratory failure, his family said. Campbell was a three-pack-a-day cigarette smoker for nearly 40 years, but gave up the habit 15 years ago. Services were scheduled for today at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church. A private burial was to follow. Palm Mortuary handled the arrangements. "Jimmy was a fixture in this town," Dan Trinter, president of Musicians Local 369, said. "He was an extremely accomplished musician who was highly respected by his peers. He earned that respect from his many years of performing with road bands." Longtime SUN entertainment columnist Joe Delaney agreed: "Jimmy was not only a fine drummer, but he had a tremendous knowledge of the history of pop music and jazz. He was a walking reference library of jazz." In addition to stints with the Kenton and Herman orchestras, Campbell performed with the Page Cavanaugh band, which included jazz bassist and fellow Las Vegan Carson Smith, who died last November. It was while performing with that group in Arizona in 1966 that Campbell met a Phoenix teacher who would become his fourth wife. "He was a wonderful drummer and a very funny man," Carol Campbell, who married Jimmy in 1967, said. "I was a big jazz fan and was very impressed with him." They moved to Las Vegas in 1968, the year Jimmy joined the local musicians union. "Jimmy loved Las Vegas, especially years ago when work was plentiful for good musicians who were tired of traveling and were looking for a place to roost," Carol said. "Many of Stan Kenton's and Woody Herman's band members settled here." After 25 years of marriage, the couple divorced and he took a fifth wife. After that brief marriage ended, Jimmy reunited with Carol and they have lived as companions ever since. They would have celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary Monday. Born Christmas Eve 1928, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Campbell joined the Merchant Marines after graduating from high school in 1946. By year's end, he enlisted in the Army, where he took up the drums. "Jimmy put together a little group that played at officers clubs," Carol said. "When he got out of the service in 1948, he decided to make music his career." Campbell, a tall, slender man known for his prematurely gray hair and moustache, worked for such band leaders as Ralph Flanagan, Sal Salvador, Don Elliot and Johnny Richards. As a member of the Kenton orchestra, which for eight straight years was voted No. 1 jazz band by the readers of Playboy magazine, Campbell worked with Maynard Ferguson and later was a member of Ferguson's Birdland Dream Band. Campbell also was the drummer for the Johnny Smith Trio and played backup for Joe Williams, Julie London, Johnnie Ray and other performers. On Jan. 16, 1964, Campbell was in the orchestra pit at the St. James Theater in Manhattan to play drums for the opening of what would become one of Broadway's biggest hits "Hello Dolly." In 1988, Campbell, slowed by emphysema, retired from show business. In addition to Carol, Campbell is survived by three daughters, Susan McCarty of Ashley, Pa., Mara Pawlenok of Mountaintop, Pa., and Nancy Tully of Las Vegas; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. DONATIONS: In Campbell's memory to the American Lung Association, 3375 Glen Ave., No. 7, Las Vegas, NV 89121.
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1928 - 1998 (69 years)
d. 13 Nov 1997, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA