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; 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. 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." Political career 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. 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...". Curb worked with Harvey Milk on the campaign against the Briggs Initiative and persuaded Reagan to oppose it, leading to its defeat. Curb has been a leading conservative supporter of gay rights ever since. 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. Curb lost the 1982 Republican gubernatorial nomination to California Attorney General George Deukmejian. In 1986, Curb ran again for lieutenant governor as the Republican nominee