Mike Curb
{{short description|42nd Lieutenant Governor of California}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Michael Curb
| image = Mike Curb Congregation and Davy Jones on Pop 1972 (cropped).JPG
| caption = Curb in 1972
| order = 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California
| term_start = January 8, 1979
| term_end = January 3, 1983
| governor = Jerry Brown
| predecessor = Mervyn Dymally
| successor = Leo T. McCarthy
| birth_name = Michael Curb
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1944|12|24|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = California State University, Northridge
| party = Republican
}}
Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American politician, record executive, and philanthropist who served as the 42nd lieutenant governor of California from 1979 to 1983. He is the founder of Curb Records and is the chairman of Word Entertainment.{{Cite news|title=Mike Curb Endowed Chair|url=https://www.csun.edu/mike-curb-arts-media-communication/music/mike-curb-endowed-chair|website=Csun.edu}} He was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006.{{cite web |title=West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame |url=http://www.westcoaststockcarhalloffame.com/hall-of-fame |access-date=March 16, 2012 |publisher=West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame}} A member of the Republican Party, Curb is the most recent Republican to have been elected lieutenant governor of California as of 2025.
Early life and education
Curb was born in Savannah, Georgia, to Charles McCloud Curb and Stella "Stout" Curb.{{cite book|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|pages=606/7}} He grew up in Southern California's San Fernando Valley. He has one sister. After attending Grant High School, he attended San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge).{{cite web |title=Mike Curb | CSU |url=https://www.calstate.edu:443/impact-of-the-csu/alumni/Honorary-Degrees/Pages/mike-curb.aspx |access-date=March 2, 2023 |website=Calstate.edu}}{{cite web|title=Mike Curb Profile|url=http://www.csun.edu/pubrels/MikeCurb/bio.html|access-date=2020-06-26|website=Csun.edu}} His maternal grandmother was of Mexican heritage.{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/stella-curb-obituary?pid=182497594|title=Stella Stout Curb Obituary (1920 - 2016) Los Angeles Times|website=Legacy.com}}
Career
= Music =
At the age of 18 in 1963, Curb formed Sidewalk Records thru which he had helped start the careers of multiple West Coast rock and roll artists.{{Cite web|date=2019-10-25|title=Mike Curb|url=https://walkoffame.com/mike-curb/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Hollywood Walk of Fame|language=en-US}} In 1969, his company merged with MGM Records. He became president of both MGM Records and Verve Records,{{Cite web|title=The MGM Records Story|url=https://www.bsnpubs.com/mgm/mgmstory.html|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Bsnpubs.com}} which then formed Curb Records.
Curb scored the music for the short film Skaterdater (1965){{Cite web|title=SKATER DATER|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/festival/films/skater-dater|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Festival de Cannes|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2015-06-28|title=Cast of acclaimed 1965 skateboarding film 'Skaterdater' reunite|url=https://www.dailybreeze.com/lifestyle/20150628/cast-of-acclaimed-1965-skateboarding-film-skaterdater-reunite|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Daily Breeze|language=en-US}} as well as The Wild Angels (1966),{{Cite web|title=Mike Curb Featuring Davie Allan & The Arrows – The Wild Angels, Volume II (Original Soundtrack)|url=https://www.vinylpussycat.com/product/mike-curb-featuring-davie-allan-the-arrows-the-wild-angels-volume-ii-original-soundtrack/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=VINYL PUSSYCAT RECORDS|language=en-US}} Thunder Alley{{Cite web|title=Thunder Alley (1967)|url=https://www.filmaffinity.com/uk/film420368.html|website=Filmaffinity.com|language=en|access-date=2021-08-16}} (1967), Devil's Angels{{Cite web|title=Film Music Site - Devil's Angels Soundtrack|url=https://www.filmmusicsite.com/en/soundtracks.cgi?id=35021&view=|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Filmmusicsite.com|language=en}} (1967), The Born Losers (1967) (the first of the Billy Jack films),{{Cite web|title=The Born Losers|url=https://mubi.com/films/the-born-losers|website=Mubi.com|language=en-US|access-date=2021-08-16}} Maryjane{{Cite web|title=Film Music Site - MaryJane Soundtrack|url=https://www.filmmusicsite.com/en/soundtracks.cgi?id=13876&view=|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Filmmusicsite.com|language=en}} (1968), The Wild Racers{{Cite web|title=THE WILD RACERS|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200023857/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Library of Congress}} (1968), The Savage Seven{{Cite web|title=The Savage Seven (1968)|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7a539e98|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025203735/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7a539e98|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2020|access-date=2021-08-16|website=BFI|language=en}} (1968), The Big Bounce{{Cite web|title=THE BIG BOUNCE (1968)|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200023925/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Library of Congress}} (1969), The Sidehackers{{Cite book|title=The New Life sings "The Sidehackers": original soundtrack recording|date=1969|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34199078|place=Hollywood, CA|publisher=Amaret|language=English|oclc=34199078|access-date=2021-08-16}} (1969) and Black Water Gold{{Cite web|title=Black Water Gold (1970)|url=https://letterboxd.com/film/black-water-gold/|website=Letterboxd.com|language=en|access-date=2021-08-16}} (1970). Curb has composed or supervised more than 50 film scores and written over 400 songs.{{Cite web|title=Mike Curb Profile|url=http://www.csun.edu/pubrels/MikeCurb/bio.html|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Csun.edu}}
In 1969, he co-wrote a new theme for the TV series American Bandstand; the theme was used until 1974.{{Cite web|date=2016-12-05|title=Mike Curb|url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/curbcenter/person/mike-curb-2/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Vanderbilt University|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Gilchrist|first=Todd|date=2012-04-19|title=Dick Clark's Death: The Music Industry Reacts to Loss of Legendary Broadcaster|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/dick-clark-death-music-industry-kenny-rogers-connie-francis-jacksons-313889/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Benny Mardones Obituary (2020) Quad-City Times|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/qctimes/name/benny-mardones-obituary?pid=196418538|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Legacy.com}}
File:Mike Curb Congregation and Davy Jones on Pop 1972.JPG 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,{{Cite news|last=Power|first=Ed|date=2020-06-23|title=A heist for the history books: how true was Kelly's Heroes?|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/kellys-heroes-clint-eastwood-nazi-gold-true-story-war-history/|access-date=2021-08-16|issn=0307-1235}} which was written and composed 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.{{Cite news|last=Hoberman|first=J.|date=2015-03-27|title=Hey, Man, Dig the Crazy Hippie Flicks 'The Wild Angels' and 'Psych-Out'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/movies/homevideo/hey-man-dig-the-crazy-hippie-flicks-the-wild-angels-and-psych-out.html|access-date=2021-08-16|issn=0362-4331}} The song reached No. 1{{Clarify|reason=On which music chart(s)?|date=June 2024}} in South Africa and New Zealand.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/sa_charts_1969_1989_songs_(A-B).html|title=South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Songs (A-B)|website=Rock.co.za|access-date=2019-08-29}}
Mike Curb's group, The Mike Curb Congregation, had the adult contemporary song "Sweet Gingerbread Man," which was from the film The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart, on music charts in 1970. The group collaborated with the Sherman Brothers on the composition "It's a Small World," which reached the Top Ten Billboard AC in 1973.[http://www.45cat.com/record/k14494us Label of MGM single "It's A Small Small World"], image at 45cat.com; retrieved January 21, 2015. Also in 1970, they performed "I Was Born In Love With You," the theme song of Wuthering Heights, as the title song for Frank Sinatra's Dirty Dingus Magee. The group was featured on Sammy Davis Jr.'s No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit of 1972, "The Candy Man" (the Aubrey Woods version was featured in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory). They sang backup on Jud Strunk's 1973 hit "Daisy a Day".{{Cite web | last= Billboard| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OwkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Mike+Curb%22+%221973%22+%22Daisy+a+Day%22&pg=RA1-PA64| title=Nielsen Business Media| date=1973-05-05| publisher=| language=en}} The group was featured regularly on Glen Campbell's CBS television show.{{Cite web|title=mike curb congregation members|url=https://montageafrica.com/sicilian-boy-gealbe/mike-curb-congregation-members-84617f|access-date=2021-08-16|website=montageafrica.com|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816015312/https://montageafrica.com/sicilian-boy-gealbe/mike-curb-congregation-members-84617f|url-status=dead}}
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."Larry (David) Norman", Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, ed. Randall Herbert Balmer (Westminster John Knox Press, 2002):411. 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.{{Cite web|title=CATTANOOGA CATS SHOW, THE {IT'S THE WOLF, MOTORMOUSE AND AUTOCAT, AROUND THE WORLD IN 79 DAYS (TV)|url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=days&p=3&item=T:37726|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Paleycenter.org}}
In the 1970s, Curb wrote and produced for Roy Orbison, Marie Osmond and the Osmond Family, Lou Rawls, Sammy Davis Jr. and Solomon Burke. He also signed artists such as the Sylvers, Eric Burdon, War, Richie Havens, the Five Man Electrical Band, Gloria Gaynor, Johnny Bristol, Exile, The Four Seasons and the Dutch singer Heintje Simons and The Mob (Chicago band) to his labels.
Curb ran a short-lived country music subsidiary label for Motown called Hitsville Records.{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Gary |date=2019-10-12 |title=Check This Out: Mike Curb |url=https://soulrideblog.com/2019/10/12/check-this-out-mike-curb/ |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=SoulRide |language=en}} He co-wrote the lyrics for "It Was a Good Time". He received BMI awards for composing "Burning Bridges" for Clint Eastwood's Kelly's Heroes, and for composing "All for the Love of Sunshine".{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
Curb served as chairman of the Inaugural Youth Concert for President Richard Nixon's second term on January 20, 1973.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/22/archives/inaugural-events-to-put-accent-on-youth.html|title=Inaugural Events to Put Accent on Youth|first=Marjorie|last=Hunter|date=December 22, 1972|access-date=November 5, 2017|website=The New York Times}} He enlisted many artists from MGM records as well as others to perform for the historic event. Solomon Burke, The Mob, Jimmy Osmond, Tommy Roe, Ray Stevens, The Sylvers, The Don Costa Orchestra, and Laurie Lea Schaefer were on the stage for the young audience. He served as emcee for the program.{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=3810|title=Richard Nixon: Remarks at the Annual Dinner of the White House Correspondents Association|website=Presidency.ucsb.edu|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827125057/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=3810|url-status=dead}}
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 for Curb Records: Mike Curb and Paul Kwami won a Grammy Award.{{Cite web|author=Josh Ewers|title=Fisk Jubilee Singers relish first Grammy win in storied career|url=https://www.mainstreet-nashville.com/music/fisk-jubilee-singers-relish-first-grammy-win-in-storied-career/article_eefc2f9c-85b2-11eb-991e-cf2f9874df34.html|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Main Street Nashville|date=March 16, 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2021-03-15|title=The Fisk Jubilee Singers'® Album, Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album), Wins Grammy Award in Best Roots Gospel Album Category|url=https://www.fisk.edu/featured/the-fisk-jubilee-singers-album-celebrating-fisk-the-150th-anniversary-album-wins-grammy-award-in-best-roots-gospel-album-category/|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Fisk University|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Word|first=Curb|title=The Fisk Jubilee Singers'® Album, Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album), Wins Grammy Award in Best Roots Gospel Album Category|url=https://www.curb.com/2021/03/the-fisk-jubilee-singers-album-celebrating-fisk-the-150th-anniversary-album-wins-grammy-award-in-best-roots-gospel-album-category/|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Curb {{!}} Word Entertainment|language=en-US}}
Curb Records marked its 60th anniversary in 2023, with Mike Curb still at the helm. Over the years, Curb Records has been home to Wynonna Judd, Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Hal Ketchum, Hank Williams Jr., the Judds, Lyle Lovett, Natalie Grant, Ray Stevens, Rodney Atkins, Jo Dee Messina, Sawyer Brown, Lee Brice, Dylan Scott, Hannah Ellis, Harper Grace and For King & Country.{{Cite web |title=Mike Curb Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mike-curb-mn0000893135/biography |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}
=MGM anti-drug controversy=
in 1970, Billboard reported that Curb, as president of MGM Records, fired 18 acts for what Curb believed was their promotion of hard drugs in their songs.{{Cite news |author=Elliot Tiegel |date=November 7, 1970 |title=MGM Busts 18 Rock Groups |newspaper=Billboard}} 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."{{Cite web |title=MGM Drops "Drug Groups" |url=https://calendar.songfacts.com/november/7/9592 |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=Music History Calendar}}
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. 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, however, 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/vumyth.html|title=Vumyth|website=Richieunterberger.com|access-date=March 2, 2023}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/lyrics/Cruising_With_Ruben_and_The_Jets.html|title=FZ Discography|website=Globalia.net|access-date=July 25, 2010}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/can-mike-curb-be-as-clean-as-he-looks/content/?oid=1181622|title=Can Mike Curb Be as Clean as He Looks?|author=Beverly Keel|date=October 2, 1997|work=Nashville Scene|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404192940/https://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/can-mike-curb-be-as-clean-as-he-looks/content/?oid=1181622|access-date=September 22, 2021|archive-date=April 4, 2012}} Burdon also launched a campaign—by distributing bumper stickers—called Curb the Clap.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thisdayinrock.com/index.php/general/1970-former-animal-eric-burdon-launches-his-new-initiative-curb-th/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206085340/http://www.thisdayinrock.com/index.php/general/1970-former-animal-eric-burdon-launches-his-new-initiative-curb-th/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 6, 2011|title=1970 – Former Animal Eric Burdon launches his new initiative Curb th | Rock History|website=Thisdayinrock.com|access-date=August 21, 2021}}
Curb claimed industry support, and the record company official he cited was Bill Gallagher, the president of Paramount Records.{{Cite news|title=Curb Backs Curbing Stand; Will Not Name Acts Cut|author=Elliot Tiegel|location=Los Angeles|newspaper=Billboard|date=November 21, 1970}} 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."{{Cite book|title=Clive: Inside The Record Business|last=Davis|first=Clive|author2=James Willworth|year=1975|publisher=William Morrow & Company|location=New York|isbn=0-688-02872-1|pages=114, 273}} In 1997, Curb stated the affair had happened at a time when "you were considered a freak if you spoke out against drugs."
=Political career=
File:Roberts, Papan, Curb and Brown signatures (cropped from CA Leg Res 234 1981).jpg
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 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...".{{Cite web |url=https://mikecurb.com/template_mc-mobile.cfm?TITLE=government |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111200800/https://mikecurb.com/template_mc-mobile.cfm?TITLE=government |url-status=dead }}
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.glad.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CurbvLeeFinalOrder.pdf|title=UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT : MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE : NASHVILLE DIVISION - CURB RECORDS, INC. and MIKE CURB FOUNDATION, Plaintiffs, v. WILLIAM LEE|website=Glad.org|access-date=March 2, 2023|archive-date=January 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131202954/https://www.glad.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CurbvLeeFinalOrder.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/tennessee-bills-discriminatory-mike-curb-gues-column-8549804/ | title=Why a Slate of Tennessee Bills Are Discriminatory and Could Hurt the State's Music Community (Guest Column) | magazine=Billboard }}
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.Shuitt, Douglas, California Elections: Curb, McCarthy – Vying to Become the Toughest Cop?, Los Angeles Times, October 10, 1986 As of 2025, Curb is the last Republican to have been elected to Lieutenant Governor of California.{{efn|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}}.
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.Mike Curb 50 Years, p. 32; {{ISBN|978-0-9838218-1-6}}, Grandin Hood, (January 1, 2011)
=Involvement in car racing=
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. Curb was the co-owner with Richard Childress of the No. 98 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon.
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.mikecurbracing.com|title=Mike Curb: Nashville, TN - Songwriter, Producer and Record Company Owner|website=Mikecurbracing.com|access-date=November 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517232100/http://mikecurbracing.com/|archive-date=May 17, 2014|url-status=dead}}
File:Rico Abreu 97 USAC Midget at Angell Park Speedway.jpg's 2014 USAC Midget car]]
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.{{Cite web|date=2021-06-18|title=The Name Game: Curb-Agajanian Synonymous with Racing|url=https://www.imsa.com/news/2021/06/18/the-name-game-curb-agajanian-synonymous-with-racing/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=IMSA|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Baker Curb Racing names Biffle in No. 27|url=https://us.motorsport.com/nascar-xs/news/baker-curb-racing-names-biffle-in-no-27/2387905/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=us.motorsport.com|date=January 11, 2010 |language=en}}
=Elvis House=
In 2006, Curb purchased a house at 1034 Audubon Drive, Memphis, which was once owned by Elvis Presley.{{cite web|last1=Moore|first1=Scotty|title=1034 Audubon Drive|url=http://scottymoore.net/audubon.html|website=Scotty Moore official site|access-date=27 October 2016}} Curb renovated the house and turned it over to the Mike Curb Institute at Rhodes College.
=Philanthropy and Honors=
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.{{Cite web |title=Nashville's Belmont University to receive $58 million music college gift from Mike Curb |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/04/09/nashvilles-belmont-university-to-receive-58-million-music-college-gift-from-mike-curb/73266892007/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}
In 2001, Curb was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame. Curb was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2003 and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.{{cite web|title=2009 Inductees|url=http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/category/inductees/2009-inductees/|publisher=North Carolina Music Hall of Fame|access-date=September 10, 2012}}
In August 2006,{{cite web|url=http://www.csun.edu/pubrels/press_releases/fall06/curb.html|title=California State University, Northridge|first=California State University, Northridge, Office of University Web|last=Communications|website=Csun.edu|access-date=November 5, 2017}} 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.
On June 29, 2007, Curb was honored with the 2,341st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.{{cite web|title=Music Mogul Mike Curb Honored with 2,341st Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame|url=http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/icons/walkoffame_ceremonies.asp#MikeCurb|access-date=2008-03-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216080128/http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/icons/walkoffame_ceremonies.asp#MikeCurb|archive-date=February 16, 2008}}
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.{{Cite web|title=Facilities - Art - CSU Channel Islands|url=https://art.csuci.edu/about-ci-art/facilities.htm|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Art.csuci.edu}}{{Cite web|title=The Fillmore Gazette|url=http://www.fillmoregazette.com/taxonomy/term/6?page=57|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Fillmoregazette.com}}
In 2014, Curb was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee{{cite web|url=http://www.mikecurb.com|title=Mike Curb: Nashville, TN - Songwriter, Producer and Record Company Owner|website=Mikecurb.com|access-date=November 5, 2017}} and in 2016, he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.{{Cite web|title=Curb, Mike « Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame|url=http://tshf.net/halloffame/mike-curb/|access-date=2021-05-09|language=en-US}} He was awarded Ray Fox Memorial Award of Living Legends of Auto Racing in Daytona in 2017.{{Cite web|title=Explore racing history|url=https://livinglegendsofautoracing.com/honorees-by-category|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Living Legends Of Auto Racing|language=en-US|archive-date=May 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509165915/https://livinglegendsofautoracing.com/honorees-by-category|url-status=dead}} In 2018, Racers Reunion featured him in Men Who Changed Racing with Harry Miller and Sam Nunis.{{Cite web|title=About – Radius Nation|url=http://www.radiusnation.net/about-racers-reunion-banquet/|website=Radiusnation.net|access-date=2021-05-09|language=en}} Curb was inducted to North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in the same year for his "contributions and support of the Hall of Fame".{{Cite web|title=Mike Curb|url=https://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/inductee-item/mike-curb/|access-date=2021-05-09|website=North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=StackPath|url=https://www.ccmmagazine.com/news/the-hoppers-inducted-into-north-carolina-music-hall-of-fame/|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Ccmmagazine.com|date=October 24, 2018 }} In 2019, Curb received the National Centennial Leadership Award from Junior Achievement.{{Cite web|last=York|first=Junior Achievement of Northeastern New|title=Six Honorees to Receive the Junior Achievement National Centennial Leadership Award|url=https://neny.ja.org/news/press-releases/six-honorees-to-receive-the-junior-achievement-national-centennial-leadership-award|access-date=2021-05-04|website=Junior Achievement of Northeastern New York|language=en}}
Discography
=Albums=
class="wikitable" |
Year
! Album ! style="width:50px;"| US |
---|
rowspan="2"| 1970
| Come Together | style="text-align:center;"| 105 |
Sweet Gingerbread Man
| style="text-align:center;"| 185 |
rowspan="2"| 1971
| Burning Bridges and Other Motion Picture Themes | style="text-align:center;"| 117 |
Put Your Hand in the Hand
| style="text-align:center;"| 205 |
rowspan="2"|1972
| Softly Whispering I Love You | style="text-align:center;"| 206 |
Song for a Young Love
|style="text-align:center;"| -- |
1973
| It's a Small World | style="text-align:center;"| Unreleased (test pressings exist, MGM SE-4900{{cite web|url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/mgm/mgm48015000.html |title=MGM Album Discography, Part 11 |publisher=Bsnpubs.com |date=May 26, 2003 |access-date=2014-06-27}}) |
=Collaboration albums=
class="wikitable" |
Year
! Album |
---|
1971
| All for the Love of Sunshine (with Hank Williams, Jr.) | 10 |
1972
| |
=Singles=
class="wikitable" |
rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="6"| Peak chart positions |
---|
style="width:45px;"| US AC
! style="width:45px;"| US ! style="width:45px;"| CA ! style="width:45px;"| AU ! style="width:45px;"| NZ ! style="width:45px;"| SA |
1970
| "Burning Bridges" | style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| 34 | style="text-align:center;"| 40 | style="text-align:center;"| 12 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 |
1971
| "Sweet Gingerbread Man" | style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| 115 | style="text-align:center;"| 95 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
rowspan="2"| 1972
| style="text-align:center;"| 15 | style="text-align:center;"| 108 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
"Softly Whispering I Love You"
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| — |
1973
| "It's a Small Small World" | style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 108 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
=Guest singles=
class="wikitable" |
rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="6"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |
---|
style="width:45px;"| US Country
! style="width:45px;"| US ! style="width:45px;"| US AC ! style="width:45px;"| CAN Country ! style="width:45px;"| CAN ! style="width:45px;"| CAN AC |
rowspan="2"| 1970
| "All for the Love of Sunshine" (with Hank Williams Jr.) | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | rowspan="2"| All for the Love of Sunshine |
"Rainin' in My Heart" (with Hank Williams Jr.)
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 108 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |
1971
| "Ain't That a Shame" (with Hank Williams Jr.) | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | Hank Williams, Jr.'s Greatest Hits Vol. II |
rowspan="3"| 1972
| "Living Together, Growing Together" (with Tony Bennett) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 111 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | single only |
"The Candy Man" (with Sammy Davis Jr.){{Cite web |url=https://mikecurb.com/articles/whitburn_2018.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-date=January 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127183649/https://mikecurb.com/articles/whitburn_2018.htm |url-status=dead }}
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | single only |
"The People Tree" (with Sammy Davis Jr.)
| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 92 | style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | single only |
1973
| "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool" (with Jimmy Osmond) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 38 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | single only (#1 in UK) |
1976
| "Sing My Love Song" (with Al Martino) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 24 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | single only |
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.mikecurb.com/ MikeCurb.com]
- [http://www.mikecurbfamilyfoundation.com/ Mike Curb Family Foundation]
- {{IMDb name|0192608|Mike Curb}}
- {{imdb name|1697977|Mike Curb Congregation}}
- {{discogs artist}}
- {{discogs artist|Mike Curb Congregation|name=Mike Curb Congregation}}
- [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p105775|pure_url=yes}} The Mike Curb Congregation] at Allmusic
- {{Racing-Reference owner|Mike_Curb}}
{{S-start}}
{{S-off}}
{{Succession box|before=Mervyn M. Dymally|title=Lieutenant Governors of California|years=1979–1983|after=Leo T. McCarthy}}
{{S-end}}
{{CALtGovernors}}
{{Bill McAnally Racing}}
{{ThorSport Racing}}
{{Curb Racing}}
{{Contemporary Christian Music}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curb, Mike}}
Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople
Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:IndyCar Series team owners
Category:Lieutenant governors of California
Category:Musicians from Savannah, Georgia
Category:Record producers from California
Category:California Republicans
Category:Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
Category:California State University, Northridge alumni
Category:American male composers
Category:20th-century American composers
Category:21st-century American composers
Category:Smash Records artists
Category:American politicians of Mexican descent
Category:Tennessee Republicans
Category:Songwriters from Tennessee
Category:20th-century American male musicians
Category:21st-century American male musicians