| Curb Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Founder | Mike Curb |
| Distributor(s) |
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| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Official website | curb |
Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of MGM and Verve Records.
Throughout the years, the Curb Companies have had major successes with such artists as the Stone Poneys (featuring Linda Ronstadt), Eric Burdon and War, Sammy Davis Jr., the Osmond Family (including Donny & Marie), Lou Rawls, Exile, the Righteous Brothers, Solomon Burke, Gloria Gaynor, the Hondells, the Arrows (featuring Davie Allan), Lyle Lovett, Roy Orbison, the Electric Flag (featuring Mike Bloomfield and Buddy Miles), the Sylvers, and the Four Seasons. The Four Seasons' comeback album, Who Loves You , included "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)". It was the first single to spend more than one year on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
Curb's roster past and present includes Chet Atkins, Rodney Atkins, Kaci Battaglia, Bellamy Brothers, Lee Brice, Sawyer Brown, Solomon Burke, Clark Family Experience, Sammy Davis Jr., Desert Rose Band, Exile, Family Force 5, Four Seasons, Gloria Gaynor, Lee Greenwood, Steve Holy, Wynonna Judd, The Judds, Hal Ketchum, Lyle Lovett, Ronnie McDowell, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, Roy Orbison, Lou Rawls, Righteous Brothers, LeAnn Rimes, Rio Grand, Neil Sedaka, T.G. Sheppard, Jim Stafford, Ray Stevens, Jonathan Thulin, Mel Tillis, Trick Pony (featuring Heidi Newfield), Hank Williams Jr. and Chris Young. [1]
In late 2002, Curb Records also acquired a stake in Word Records from then-owners Time Warner. Warner Music Group sold its remaining stake in the label to Curb in 2016, making Word a wholly owned subsidiary, while Warner Music continues to distribute its output. [2]
Four-time GMA Music Award Female Vocalist of the Year Natalie Grant is signed to Curb Records, in addition to the five-time GMA music award-winning group Selah. Throughout the years, Curb has had success with other Gospel music artists such as MercyMe, the Second Chapter of Acts, Degarmo and Key, Patti Cabrera, Michael English, Debby Boone, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Barlowgirl, pureNRG, Worship Kids, Francesca Battistelli, Big Daddy Weave, Building 429, Fernando Ortega, Downhere, Nicole C. Mullen, Larry Norman, Jonathan Pierce, Plumb, Point of Grace, Group 1 Crew, Salvador, Jamie Slocum, Steller Kart, Jaci Velasquez and Mark Schultz.
In 2006, Curb launched a sister rock label Bruc Records, the name of which is an backronym for "Blues, Rock, Urban, Country" (the name is also "Curb" spelled backwards). Straight to Hell by Hank Williams III was the first album to be released on the new imprint.
In 2011, Curb filed a lawsuit against singer Tim McGraw alleging breach of contract, and McGraw filed a counter lawsuit against Curb. Early court rulings came down in favor of McGraw. [3] In 2012, McGraw stopped recording with Curb, which had released all his albums and singles since 1990s, and switched to Big Machine Records.
In 2015, Jim Ed Norman was named CEO of the Curb Group. However, Mike Curb remains extremely involved as the founder and chairman of the board.
Curb Records supports charitable programs through the Mike Curb Family Foundation. Some of the supported programs include: the Mike Curb Family Welcome Center at Second Harvest, Curb Youth Symphony, Curb Young Musicians Competition, Curb Concerto Competition, the Curb Family Humane Center, the Curb Junior Achievement Center in Los Angeles and Nashville, the Curb Family Pediatric Center, the Nashville Boy Scout Conference Center, the Patriots Theatre at Fort Campbell, the Curb Family Education Oasis Center and the Stella Curb Teacher Development Classrooms.
The Curb Foundation is very active in education including the Curb Center at Vanderbilt (which has launched the Curb Creative Campus Program), the Curb College for Music Business at Belmont University, the Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication at Cal State University Northridge, the Curb Beaman Jubilee Singers Chair at Fisk University, the Curb College of Arts, Music and Sciences at Daytona State College, the Business and Law Chair and Facility at Claremont McKenna College, the Curb Learning Lab for Music and Entertainment at Baylor University, the Curb Keller Dormitories at Neve Yerushalayim in Jerusalem University and the Curb History Institute at Rhodes College.
In conjunction with Curb's educational projects, Curb has purchased and restored Elvis Presley's first home in Memphis, Tennessee, the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, the Historic RCA Studio B, and Columbia's Historic Quonset Hut (which was the first recording studio on Nashville's famed Music Row). These historic facilities were used by students, at the various Curb-supported colleges and universities, for the purpose of studying music history.
In October 2008, the 6,000 seat Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville hosted the Town Hall Presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.
In the United Kingdom, Curb artists (apart from those sub-licensed to majors) are eligible for the UK 'independent' charts. In January 2006, Curb scored a Top 10 hit with Brian Kennedy and Peter Corry's Tribute to George Best , an EP featuring recordings of "You Raise Me Up". Curb previously had major hits in Europe with the Four Seasons, the Osmonds, LeAnn Rimes and soundtracks, such as Coyote Ugly .
Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Christian, and other musical genres. Rimes has placed over 40 singles on international charts since 1996. In addition, she has sold over 48 million records worldwide, with 20.8 million album sales in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard ranked her number 17 in terms of sales success in the 1990–1999 decade.
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the 1970s. The company also released soundtrack albums of the music for some of their non-musical films as well, and on rare occasions, cast albums of off-Broadway musicals such as The Fantasticks and the 1954 revival of The Threepenny Opera. In one instance, MGM Records released the highly successful soundtrack album of a film made by another studio, Columbia Pictures's Born Free (1966).
Michael Curb 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. He was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006. 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.
Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/Asylum Records.
Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records, and is a part of Word Entertainment. It is distributed by Warner Records.
Sidewalk Records was a record label based in Hollywood, California that was started in 1963 by Mike Curb at the age of eighteen. The company was first formed as Sidewalk Productions and later became a subsidiary label of Capitol Records. Many recordings by Sidewalk Productions appeared on the related label Tower Records, also a subsidiary of Capitol Records.
Terry Lee McMillan was an American country music singer, harmonica player, and percussionist. In 1973, he became a member of Eddy Raven's band in Nashville, and worked with Raven until 1974. McMillan then started working with Chet Atkins, playing harmonica with his touring show. Later, he toured with Jerry Reed and Jeannie C. Riley before becoming a very in-demand session musician. In the 1970s, McMillan appeared on many albums, including the recordings of Mickey Newbury and Gary Stewart. He was also featured many times on Trinity Broadcasting in the 1990s.
Curb Museum for Music and Motorsports is a museum about music and NASCAR racing, both reflecting the business interests and passions of owner Mike Curb. The museum is located at 600 Dale Earnhardt Blvd in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
Jim Ed Norman is an American musician, multi-platinum record producer, arranger and label-head. As an arranger and producer, he was one of the principal architects of the distinctive sound of West Coast 1970s pop and country rock. He was President of Warner Bros Records Nashville from 1984 to 2004.
Brent Maher is a producer, engineer, and songwriter currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He has produced and engineered six Grammy-winning records and received awards from the CMA, ACM, CCMA, ASCAP, SOCAN and NSAI. Maher engineered classic recordings like Ike and Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” and The 5th Dimension's "Age of Aquarius". He discovered The Judds and produced all ten of their albums, writing many of their hit songs. Maher has also served two terms on the board of directors of the Academy of Country Music.
Michael Jeffrey Lloyd is an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and musician. After working with Mike Curb, Kim Fowley and others in the mid-to-late 1960s on musical projects including the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and Steven Spielberg's first short film, Amblin', he became a producer of such teen idol pop stars as the Osmonds, Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett in the 1970s.
John David Willis is an American guitarist and songwriter. He is best known for work as a session musician and as a songwriter for television and video games.
Harry Stinson is an American multi-instrumentalist, noted as a session drummer and vocalist in the Nashville music community. He is also a songwriter and producer.
Steven Jay Nathan is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios.
Fletcher Bangs "Biff" Watson is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. His musicianship has been a part of recording sessions for many artists.
Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer.
Jonathan Yudkin is an American multi-instrumentalist who is a proficient player of banjo, violin, mandolin, and other stringed instruments. He is a Nashville-based session musician, record producer, arranger, and band leader.
Larry Franklin is an American Fiddler, mandolin and guitar player, session musician, and composer. His style embraces country, blues, rock and roll, jazz, and Western swing.
Paul William Leim is an American drummer and recording session musician based in Nashville.
