John Leopold - Executive Producer Grammy Winner 'A Tribute to the King of Zydeco', Clifton Chenier_interviewed 2026-02-27 on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club

John is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor who, after losing re-election went on to be Managing Director of the Arhoolie Foundation, which was founded by Chris Strachwitz; Chris founded Arhoolie Records, a roots label founded in 1960 in the Bay Area; 40 years ago, John found Chris through his radio show in KPFA; Chris founded the Arhoolie Foundation in the 1990s; John cold called Chris, & asked if he could write grants for them - Chris was skeptical, saying, "We don't have any money."; John started writing grants anyway, & ultimately brought in $1M; Chris asked John to join the Arhoolie Board of Directors in 2000 &, after he lost re-election, asked him to be Managing Director of the Foundation; on New Year's Eve 2022 Los Lobos played the Rio Theater; 2023 would begin the 50th year for the band, so they threw a celebration / party before the gig; after the gig, John was talking backstage with Steve Berlin & David Hidalgo, who asked John what he was working on; when he told them, "A Clifton Chenier archival box" to celebrate Clifton's Centenial; they said, "If you're doing a tribute album, we're in!"; John asked, "How do you make an album?" Steve had been a producer for 40 years and said, "First, you get a record label!"; John approached Jo-el Savoy, of Valcour Recrods, whose parents were friends of Clifton's; both Jo-el Savoy & Steve Berlin had won Grammys, so John wasn't sure how it would go when he introduced them at a Crawfish Boil in May, 2023, but they were totally sympatico; they released the record on June 27, 2025 (June 25 would've been Clifton's 100th birthday); how do you get a Grammy nomination? Pay $75 & nominate! Who votes? members of the Recording Academy (people who pay their dues & work full time in the music industry); there are 92 or 96 categories - only 10 are on TV; the awards ceremony, including the pre-telecast portion with the other 82 or 86, was on Sunday, February 1st, & "A Tribute to the King of Zydeco", on Valcour Records with John Leopold as Executive Producer, won the Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album!!! If John had won re-election as County Supervisor, cannot tell what would've been: John loves music....saw an opportunity...took advantage of that opportunity (John is proud of his 20 years as an elected official); what's next? John is working with Steve Riley & Christine Balfa (Dewey Balfa's daughter) on a project celebrating Dewey's life, music, & impact, planning for release in 2027 when Dewey would've been 100.

An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Wrangle" (Chris Jong), airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.