At the age of 18 in 1963,Curb formed Sidewalk Records through which he had helped start the careers of multiple West Coast rock and roll artists.[9] In 1969,his company merged with MGM Records. He became president of both MGM Records and Verve Records,[10] which then formed Curb Records.
Curb (center) with members of the Mike Curb Congregation and Davy Jones on a television special in 1972
Curb had a Top 40 pop song in early 1971. Its title was the same as that of his album,Burning Bridges,[27] which was written by Lalo Schifrin and Mike Curb. The song was used as the theme of Brian G. Hutton's film Kelly's Heroes,which starred Clint Eastwood.[28] The song reached No. 1 on South Africa’s Springbok Radio Chart.[29]
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.[33] 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.[34]
Curb ran a short-lived country music subsidiary label for Motown called Hitsville Records.[35] He co-wrote the lyrics for "It Was a Good Time". He received BMI awards for writing "Burning Bridges" for Clint Eastwood's Kelly's Heroes,and for writing "All for the Love of Sunshine".[36]
In 1970,Billboard reported that Curb,as president of MGM Records,fired eighteen acts for what Curb believed was their promotion of hard drugs in their songs.[43] 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."[44]
Curb has always disputed that any acts were dropped from MGM only for drug-related reasons. Billboard reported that Curb was alarmed by the drug-related deaths of Janis Joplin,Jimi Hendrix,and Alan Wilson of Canned Heat.[43] Among the musicians incorrectly thought to be included in the purge were the Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa's group the Mothers of Invention. 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.[45] 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.[46][47] Burdon also launched a campaign—by distributing bumper stickers—called Curb the Clap.[48]
Curb claimed industry support,and the record company official he cited was Bill Gallagher,the president of Paramount Records.[49]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."[50] In 1997,Curb stated the affair had happened at a time when "you were considered a freak if you spoke out against drugs."[47]
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 former Governor of California (and future President of the United States) 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 1979–1980,when Brown was out of the state campaigning to become the Democratic presidential candidate,Curb was acting governor,vetoing legislation,issuing executive orders,and making appointments. 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 liberal Democrat Harvey Milk on the campaign against the Briggs Initiative,a 1978 ballot initiative that would have banned gays and lesbians from working in public schools. Curb persuaded Reagan to oppose the initiative,and it was defeated. Curb continues to support LGBT rights;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.[52][53]
In 1982,Curb lost the Republican gubernatorial nomination to California Attorney General George Deukmejian. Deukmejian would go on to narrowly win the general election. In 1986,Curb ran again for lieutenant governor as the Republican nominee against the incumbent Democrat,Leo T. McCarthy,losing 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 2025,Curb is the last Republican to have been elected to Lieutenant Governor of California.[a]
A motorsport enthusiast,Curb is a co-owner of the Curb Agajanian Performance Group,a team that has won ten national championships. His sponsorship and ownership have included three of NASCAR's most celebrated drivers. He 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 co-owner with Richard Childress of the No. 98 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon.[56]
Curb was the only car owner to win in all 10 NASCAR auto racing series in the United States –the NASCAR Cup Series,the Xfinity Series (formerly the Nationwide series and Busch Series),the Craftsman Truck Series (formerly the Gander Outdoors Truck Series and Camping World Truck Series),the Grand-Am Rolex Daytona Prototype National Sports Car Series (now the IMSA SportsCar Championship 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 is also a long-time sponsor of ThorSport Racing in the Truck Series,as part-owner of the team's No. 98 Ford driven by Ty Majeski. He maintained a similar partnership with Phil Parsons Racing in the Cup Series,which also ran the No. 98. Parsons 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 includes 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 2024,he made the largest ever donation to Belmont,contributing $58 million to expand the Curb College's presence on Music Row.[60]
In August 2006,[62] 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 within 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.[64][65]
The Mike Curb Foundation is a private philanthropic organization established by Mike Curb in 1998.[73] Since its founding,the foundation has contributed over $200 million in grants to advance education,the arts,cultural preservation,and community initiatives.[73]
In 2012,the Mike Curb Foundation made a donation to the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to establish a computer music laboratory. In 2025,it provided additional funding for a full renovation of the space,which was renamed the Mike Curb Student Recording Facility at the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center.[74]
At Belmont University,the foundation contributed a $58 million lead gift supporting a two-phase expansion of the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business on Nashville’s Music Row.[75] The first phase,completed in 2025,opened 17,000 square feet of new facilities,including songwriting rooms,listening spaces,live-sound classrooms,and student lounges. The second phase is planned to add 71,900 square feet of additional space.[76]
The foundation also established the Mike Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes College in 2006. The institute was recognized by Billboard in 2023 as one of the top music business schools for its curriculum and industry partnerships.[77] In 2020,the foundation made a major gift to Daytona State College,endowing naming rights for the Curb Center to support programs preparing students for careers in the music industry.[78]
↑In 2010, another Republican, Abel Maldonado, was appointed to the office of Lieutenant Governor to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of John Garamendi.
↑"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)
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