The University of Mississippi is internationally famous for its
work in documenting African American blues culture.
The Center for the Study of the Southern Culture, established
at the University in 1977, acquired Living Blues in 1983.Living
Blues was the first American magazine dedicated exclusively to the
blues.
The Center’s director at the time was Dr. William R.
Ferris, a Vicksburg native who wrote his doctoral dissertation on
Delta blues traditions and was a contributor to Living Blues.
O’Neal, who lived in Biloxi and Oxford as a child, and van
Singel moved from Chicago to Oxford after the transfer of the
magazine. In 1980 they cofounded the Rooster Blues record label,
and O’Neal later started the Stackhouse label and helped
establish the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in
Clarksdale. The Center launched its own Southern Culture label in
1983 to document Mississippi blues, gospel, and folk music. Living
Blues was later edited by Peter Lee, who was a founder of the
Oxford-based Fat Possum record label, David Nelson, Scott Barretta,
and Brett J. Bonner. Ferris, Nelson, and Barretta also served as
hosts of the University-produced radio show “Highway
61,” which began its long tenure on Mississippi Public
Broadcasting in 1984...