NEW YORK (AP) — Mary Campbell, whose childhood affection for the big bands and opera she heard on her radio set the stage for four decades as a music writer for The Associated Press, died Friday. She was 78.

Campbell died in Bloomington, Ind., according to her sister, Ruth Miller.

From symphony to rock 'n' roll, from Duke Ellington to Beverly Sills to the Dixie Chicks, Campbell covered the entertainment scene, earning respect from the artists she wrote about and devotion from the public who followed her profiles and reviews.