Russell HitchcockRussell Hitchcock

Russell Hitchcock is an Australian musician born on June 15, 1949, in Melbourne. He attended South Brunswick State School and then Princes Hill High School in Carlton North. He left school in 1965 to work in sales; at age 20, he joined a computer company, where he worked for three years before being promoted and transferred to Sydney. During this period, Hitchcock also played drums and sang lead vocals in 19th Generation.

Musical theater work led to Hitchcock's long-term collaboration with Graham Russell. The two met on May 12, 1975, in the chorus of the Australian touring production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and formed Air Supply together. In 1983, they moved from Australia to the United States as members of the group.

Hitchcock serves as the group's lead vocalist. Recalling their early recording sessions, Graham Russell said that Hitchcock could complete a vocal in one take almost every time in those days; no one needed to tell him how to take the ending higher or sustain a note, as he recorded by instinct.