Scott Barretta

Scott Barretta is best known as a Blues music journalist historian and instructor at the University of Mississippi focussed on researching and teaching Blues music history Southern studies the civil rights movement race sociology and anthropology Barretta studied sociology focussing on historical comparative studies of political issues later completing a dissertation on homelessness during the Great Depression at University of Virginia He studied a PhD at Lund University Sweden but had to switch topic in part because homelessness was not an issue in Sweden instead opting to study music Barretta became editor at the Swedish Jefferson Blues Magazine from 19961999 then an editor at Chicago based Living Blues magazine from 19992003 Barretta has written for the ClarionLedger and Mississippi Today and various magazines cohosted the blues radio show Highway 61 for over a decade on Mississippi Public Radio and written and researched for the Mississippi Blues Trail He has contributed to exhibits for the BB King Museum many album liner notes cofounded the University of Mississippis Blues Today Symposium and was involved in establishing the Grammy Museum in Cleveland Mississippi