Music 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. In 1969, his company merged with
MGM Records. He became president of both MGM Records and
Verve Records, which then formed Curb Records. Curb scored the music for the short film
Skaterdater (1965) as well as
The Wild Angels (1966),
Thunder Alley (1967), ''
Devil's Angels (1967), The Born Losers (1967) (the first of the Billy Jack films), Maryjane (1968), The Wild Racers (1968), The Savage Seven (1968), The Big Bounce (1969), The Sidehackers (1969) and Black Water Gold'' (1970). Curb has composed or supervised more than 50 film scores and written over 400 songs. In 1969, he co-wrote a new theme for the TV series
American Bandstand; the theme was used until 1974. 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, 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. The song reached No. 1 on South Africa’s Springbok Radio Chart''. Curb's group, the Mike Curb Congregation, had the adult contemporary song "
Sweet Gingerbread Man", from the film
The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart, on music charts in 1970. Also in 1970, they performed "I Was Born In Love With You", the theme song of
Wuthering Heights, and the title song for the
Frank Sinatra film
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). The group collaborated with the
Sherman Brothers on the song "
It's a Small World", which reached the
Billboard AC Top Ten in 1973. They sang backup on
Jud Strunk's 1973 hit "
Daisy a Day". The group was featured regularly on
Glen Campbell's CBS television show. 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. 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. 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,
the Mob and the Dutch singer
Heintje Simons to his labels. Curb ran a short-lived country music subsidiary label for
Motown called Hitsville Records. 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". Curb served as chairman of the Inaugural Youth Concert for President
Richard Nixon's second term on January 20, 1973. 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. In 2021,
Fisk Jubilee Singers won Grammy awards for
Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album) under the
Best Roots Gospel Album category. The album was produced for
Curb Records: Mike Curb and Paul Kwami won a Grammy Award.
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.
MGM anti-drug controversy 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. 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." 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. 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. Burdon also launched a campaign—by distributing bumper stickers—called Curb the Clap. Curb claimed industry support, and the record company official he cited was Bill Gallagher, the president of
Paramount Records.
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." In 1997, Curb stated the affair had happened at a time when "you were considered a freak if you spoke out against drugs." 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. 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. As of 2025, Curb is the last Republican to have been elected to Lieutenant Governor of California. 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.
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. '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.
Elvis House In 2006, Curb purchased
a house at 1034 Audubon Drive, Memphis, which was once owned by Elvis Presley. Curb renovated the house and turned it over to the Mike Curb Institute at
Rhodes College. 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. In August 2006, 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. On June 29, 2007, Curb was honored with the 2,341st star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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. In 2014, Curb was inducted into the
Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in
Nashville, Tennessee and in 2016, he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. He was awarded Ray Fox Memorial Award of
Living Legends of Auto Racing in Daytona in 2017. In 2018, Racers Reunion featured him in Men Who Changed Racing with
Harry Miller and
Sam Nunis. Curb was inducted to
North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in the same year for his "contributions and support of the Hall of Fame". In 2019, Curb received the National Centennial Leadership Award from
Junior Achievement.
Mike Curb Foundation The Mike Curb Foundation is a private philanthropic organization established by Mike Curb in 1998. Since its founding, the foundation has contributed over $200 million in grants to advance education, the arts,
cultural preservation, and community initiatives. 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. 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. 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. 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. ==Discography==