Air Supply is getting its own square of sidewalk immortality Thursday, as the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce unveils a star honoring the soft-rock duo at 6126 Hollywood Boulevard, directly in front of the Fonda Theatre. The 11:30 a.m. ceremony caps a 51-year career for Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, whose string of early-1980s ballads turned them into one of the era's biggest-selling acts.
The star marks the 2,859th installed since the Walk of Fame's completion in 1961, when it launched with 1,558 stars, according to MyNewsLA.com. Air Supply joins the Hollywood Walk of Fame's Class of 2026 in the Recording category, a group that also includes Miley Cyrus, Josh Groban, Lyle Lovett and The Clark Sisters, as reported by Rockum. Retired Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, described as a longtime Air Supply fan, and producer David Foster are both scheduled to speak at the ceremony, with radio personality Lisa Foxx hosting, per the same MyNewsLA.com account.
A Partnership Born in a Jesus Christ Superstar Chorus
Russell and Hitchcock first crossed paths on May 12, 1975, singing in the chorus of the Australian touring company of Jesus Christ Superstar, according to MyNewsLA.com's reporting. The pair recorded a cassette demo of the songs Love and Other Bruises and If You Knew Me and shopped it to every record company in Sydney before CBS Records signed them. Their debut single, Love and Other Bruises, climbed to sixth on Australia's Kent Music Report chart in 1976, and their self-titled debut album reached 17th on the same chart and went gold.
The momentum didn't last at first. Air Supply opened for Rod Stewart on his 1977 Australian tour and toured North America that September through December, but the duo came home broke and without gigs, Hitchcock has said, per the MyNewsLA.com report. The turnaround came when Graham Russell wrote Lost in Love, which reached 13th on the Kent Music Report chart and caught the ear of Arista Records president Clive Davis, who signed the group after hearing the title track, according to the Wisevoter account of the deal.
Eight Top 10 Hits and a Two-Year Chart Run
Lost in Love became Air Supply's American breakthrough, earning RIAA gold certification and remaining on the Billboard 200 for two years. The duo went on to notch three consecutive RIAA-platinum albums between 1980 and 1982: Lost in Love, The One That You Love, and Now and Forever, the outlet notes. Along the way, Air Supply racked up eight top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the early 1980s, including the chart-topping The One That You Love in 1981 and two No. 2 hits, All Out of Love in 1980 and Making Love Out of Nothing at All in 1983, per the Wisevoter breakdown of the duo's chart peaks.
All Out of Love has since surpassed three million broadcast radio plays in North America, enough to earn songwriter Graham Russell a BMI Million-Air Certificate, as detailed by the Beverly Press & Park Labrea News. Russell Hitchcock has called the moment of holding the first vinyl pressing of Love and Other Bruises a career highlight. “This piece of vinyl is forever. Someone can listen to this long after we're gone,” Hitchcock has said, according to MyNewsLA.com.
From Royal Command Performances to a Historic China Tour
Air Supply's reach extended well beyond the charts. The duo performed for Prince Charles and Princess Diana in Australia in 1988, became the first Western group to tour China in 1995, and played for an estimated 175,000 people in Havana in 2005, per MyNewsLA.com's account. Graham Russell has described talking with the future king as surreal.
The group's songwriting ties also run through Hollywood soundtrack history. David Foster co-wrote the 1984 soft-rock ballad included on the Ghostbusters soundtrack alongside Graham Russell and Jay Graydon, and he produced the track as well, according to the same report. Foster later co-wrote the 1993 ballad Goodbye with Linda Thompson, which Air Supply recorded as the lead single for its album The Vanishing Race.
A Walk of Fame Honor With a Price Tag
Getting a star on Hollywood Boulevard isn't simply a ceremonial nod — it comes with a $75,000 sponsorship fee, paid to the nonprofit Hollywood Historic Trust to cover star construction, ceremony staging, and ongoing sidewalk preservation, per rules maintained by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Candidates must also agree in writing to attend their own unveiling. The Walk of Fame itself holds official status as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 194, a designation granted in 1978, according to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Air Supply's Hollywood recognition arrives more than a decade after the Australian Recording Industry Association inducted the duo into the ARIA Hall of Fame during the 27th Annual ARIA Awards in Sydney on December 1, 2013.
Still Touring, 51 Years and 5,560 Shows Later
Far from a nostalgia act resting on old hits, Air Supply remains a heavy touring presence, performing roughly 130 live concerts a year across North America and internationally, per the Beverly Press & Park Labrea News. The duo marked its 50th golden anniversary on May 13, 2025, with a sold-out debut performance at Carnegie Hall in New York — their 5,560th concert since forming in 1975.
The band isn't slowing down after Thursday's ceremony, either. Air Supply is set to perform at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa on Friday and at the Greek Theatre on Saturday, continuing a touring schedule that has kept the duo in front of audiences for more than five decades. Ceremonies at the Hollywood Walk of Fame are streamed live at walkoffame.com, with recordings later posted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame's YouTube channel.
