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Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock met in 1975, when they were both appearing in a production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in their native Australia.
They decided to start a band, and named it Air Supply.
By 1978, Air Supply was touring their home country with Rod Stewart, who then brought them along on his US Tour, and the rest is history.
But "the rest" is pretty interesting, especially when you consider the history of today's Great Song of 1980.
"All Out of Love" was an Australian hit in 1978, and after Arista Records signed the group for American and international distribution, Arista president and music guru Clive Davis had a problem with the song.
Actually, it was a problem with a lyric. In the Australian version, they sing: "I'm all out of love, I want to arrest you." Apparently, that was rather obscure Australian slang for "I want your attention."
Clive was 100% sure that American audiences wouldn't understand it (and rightfully so), so he suggested they change the line to, "I'm so lost without you."
At first, Graham Russell was hesitant to change what had already been a hit record...but Clive Davis was almost never wrong, so the song was was re-recorded with the new lyric and released as a single--with Clive listed as a co-writer.
And, as usual, Clive was right. "All Out of Love" went to #2 in both the US and Canada (It topped the charts in Argentina, of all places)!
TRIVIA #1: At the end of the song, Graham holds a note for just over 16 seconds--a record at the time for a male pop singer. (If you're a singer, you know that's not easy!) For the record, Donna Summer holds the female record at exactly 16 seconds on her 1979 hit "Dim All the Lights."
TRIVIA #2: In recent years, the song has been performed on the TV shows "Glee" and "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist."
"All Out of Love" by Air Supply (and Clive Davis): A "Great Song of 1980! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWdZEumNRmI
Tomorrow: The Pointers and Conway
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