Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944)[1] is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder and chairman of Curb Records. Curb also serves as Chairman of Word Entertainment.[2] He was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006.[3] A Republican, Curb served as the 42nd lieutenant governor of California from 1979 to 1983. As of 2024, he is the most recent Republican to be elected to Lieutenant Governor of California to date.
In 1963 at the age of 18, Curb formed Sidewalk Records and helped launch the careers of multiple West Coastrock and roll artists.[7] Sidewalk later merged with MGM Records before eventually becoming Curb Records.[8]
Curb (center) with members of the Mike Curb Congregation and Davy Jones on a television special in 1972.
Curb had a Top 40 pop hit in early 1971 with the title cut from his album Burning Bridges[26] (written and composed by Lalo Schifrin and Mike Curb) which was used as the theme of Brian G. Hutton's film, starring Clint Eastwood, Kelly's Heroes.[27] The song reached No. 1 in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.[28]
The group was featured regularly on Glen Campbell's CBS television show.[31] In 1969, Curb signed Christian rock pioneer Larry Norman, DeGarmo & Key, 2nd Chapter of Acts, and Debby Boone - artists considered to be the earliest contemporary Christian music artists.[32] Curb wrote and produced music for the Hanna-Barbera animated series Cattanooga Cats. The theme for the cartoon series Hot Wheels is credited to Mike Curb and the Curbstones.[33]
In 2021, Fisk Jubilee Singers won Grammy awards for Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album) under Best Roots Gospel Album category. The album was produced under the label of Curb Records, under the auspices of Curb and Paul Kwami, of which Mike Curb and Paul Kwami won a GRAMMY Award.[37][38][39]
In 1969 Mike Curb merged his company with MGM and became President of MGM Records at the age of 24.[41] Curb has always disputed that any acts were dropped from MGM only for drug-related reasons, nevertheless, in 1970, Billboard reported that Curb fired 18 acts for what Curb believed was their promotion of hard drugs in their songs.[42] Curb said, "Drug groups are the cancer of the industry. Their effect on young people who are their fans or followers is devastating. When they appear smashed out of their minds and describe musically a great experience they had on LSD, they are glorifying hard drugs. I credit hard drug record acts with hundreds and hundreds of new young drug users."[43] President Richard Nixon, who was staunchly anti-drug, publicly praised Curb: "Your forthright stand against drug abuse is a responsible contribution to the welfare of your country and specifically to the millions of young Americans who buy records."
Billboard reported that Curb was alarmed by the drug-related deaths of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Alan Wilson of Canned Heat.[42] Among the musicians incorrectly thought to be included in the purge were The Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa's group The Mothers of Invention; however, Zappa spoke out against drug use throughout his career and, by early 1969, had fulfilled his MGM/Verve contract and moved to his own Bizarre Records label, distributed by Warner Bros.The Velvet Underground had already left the label by then to sign with Atlantic Records, who released their fourth studio album Loaded.[44] Also, when Eric Burdon, who was an advocate of psychedelics, dared Curb to release him from his contract although he was his biggest selling artist, Curb acquiesced.[45][46] Burdon also launched a campaign—by distributing bumper stickers—called Curb the Clap.[47]
Curb claimed industry support, and the record company official he cited was Bill Gallagher, the president of Paramount Records.[48]Columbia Records president Clive Davis said Curb was "grandstanding", and that his anti-drug stance had made him "a minor hero of the Nixon administration."[49] In 1997, Curb stated the affair had happened at a time when "you were considered a freak if you spoke out against drugs."[46]
Political career
Signatures from a resolution signed by Curb in his ceremonial role of President of the California State Senate
Encouraged to enter politics in part by Ronald Reagan, Curb was elected Lieutenant Governor of California in 1978, defeating the incumbent Democrat, Mervyn M. Dymally. Democratic candidate Jerry Brown was re-elected governor in the same year. During much of Brown's 1979–1980 bid to become the Democratic presidential candidate, Curb was acting governor, vetoing legislation, issuing executive orders and making appointments; actions the California Supreme Court upheld as Curb's constitutional prerogative.[50] According to the December 28, 1979, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, "...the California Supreme Court ruled yesterday that when the governor is out of state, the lieutenant governor is free to exercise all powers of the chief executive...".[51]
Curb worked with Harvey Milk on the campaign against the Briggs Initiative, a ballot initiative that would have banned gays and lesbians from working in public schools. Once he persuaded President Reagan to oppose it, it was defeated. Curb has been a leading conservative supporter of gay rights ever since.[52][dead link] In 2023, Curb achieved a major victory in his challenge to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, where the court declared it unconstitutional to force private businesses to post discriminatory LGBT signs.[53]
In 1982, Curb ran for governor, but lost the party nomination to California Attorney General George Deukmejian. In 1986, Curb ran again for lieutenant governor as the Republican nominee against the incumbent Democrat, Leo T. McCarthy, in a bitterly contested race, largely run on the issue of punishment for drug trafficking and violent crimes. A vocal opponent of drug use, Curb advocated extension of the death penalty to include drug pushers whose narcotics trafficking resulted in a death.[54] As of 2024, he is the last Republican elected lieutenant governor; Abel Maldonado was appointed to the position by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010 to fill the lieutenant gubernatorial office and position vacancy when John Garamendi resigned to take a seat in Congress but lost the subsequent election to then San Francisco mayor and later future Governor Gavin Newsom. In 1980, Curb was co-chairman of Ronald Reagan's successful presidential campaign. Curb was also chairman of the convention program in Detroit and was later appointed by Reagan to be chairman of the national finance committee.[55]
Involvement in car racing
A motorsport enthusiast, Curb is a co-owner of the Curb Agajanian Performance Group, a team that has won 10 national championships. His sponsorship and ownership have included three of NASCAR's most celebrated drivers: he previously owned Richard Petty's famed No. 43 car in 1984 and 1985, during which Petty achieved his 199th and 200th career wins. Curb was also a sponsor for Dale Earnhardt during his 1980 Winston Cup championship winning season, and sponsored Darrell Waltrip's No. 12 Toyota Tundra in the Craftsman Truck Series, driven by Joey Miller in 2006. Curb-Agajanian also ran cars for many years in the Indianapolis 500, including for Dan Wheldon and Alexander Rossi, with whom he won the 2011 and 2016 Indianapolis 500s respectively.[55]
Curb was the only car owner to win in all 10 NASCAR auto racing series in the United States – the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (formerly Nextel/Sprint Cup and Winston Cup), the Xfinity Series (formerly the Nationwide series and Busch Series), the Gander Outdoors Truck Series (formerly the Camping World Truck Series and Craftsman Truck Series), the Grand-Am Rolex Daytona Prototype National Sports Car Series (now the United Sports Car Series merged with American Le Mans), the IMSA GT Series (formerly IMSA Camel GT), Continental Series (formerly IMSA GTS), the Late Model All American Series, the Modifieds and the K&N East and West Series.[56]
Curb was the co-owner with Richard Childress of the No. 98 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon.[56] Curb is also a long-time sponsor of ThorSport Racing in the Truck Series, being part-owner of the team's No. 98 Ford driven by Grant Enfinger. He also maintained a similar partnership with Phil Parsons Racing in the Cup Series, which also ran the No. 98. The Curb Racing team has cars in United States Automobile Club (USAC) competition. Their drivers Christopher Bell and Rico Abreu won the 2013 and 2014 USAC National Midget tours.[57][58]
In Nashville, Curb has become a civic leader and benefactor of Belmont University, where his donation toward the construction of a new arena resulted in it being named the Curb Event Center. The university runs the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Curb endowed the Curb Center and the Curb Creative Campus program at Vanderbilt University and the Mike Curb Institute of Music at Rhodes College in Memphis.
In August 2006,[61] Curb pledged $10 million to California State University, Northridge (CSUN) (in Los Angeles) to endow his alma mater's arts college and provide a lead gift for the university's regional performing arts center. Of the $10 million gift, $5 million supported CSUN's College of Arts, Media, and Communication, one of the university's largest colleges that offers degree and certificate programs for more than 4,400 students. Of the gift, $4 million went into a general endowment for the college, and $1 million endowed a faculty chair specializing in music industry studies. As a result, the college was named in his honor. Studies with in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication include Media, Arts, Music, Business, Journalism, and Communication Studies.
CSU Channel Islands dedicated the Mike Curb Studio in Napa Hall at the Camarillo, California campus on October 21, 2010. The studio is a post-production and film and video production facility.[63][64]
^ abMoore, Scotty. "1034 Audubon Drive". Scotty Moore official site. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
^"2009 Inductees". North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
^Communications, California State University, Northridge, Office of University Web. "California State University, Northridge". Csun.edu. Retrieved November 5, 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
.JPG)
.jpg)
