Session musicians keyboardist David Foster and guitarist Jay Graydon first met while on tour in the mid-'70s. They struck up a friendship and continued to work together, backing various artists and collaborating on songs. They eventually formed Airplay as a showcase for their material, bringing vocalist Tommy Funderburk, drummer Jeff Porcaro, bassist David Hungate on board, and several of their other studio associates. The group's eponymous debut, Airplay, arrived in 1980 on RCA. The album found them reworking several songs they had penned for other artists, including "After the Love Has Gone" (with lyrics by Chicago's Bill Champlin) which had been a Top Five Hot 100 hit for Earth, Wind Fire in 1979 and won the Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues Song. While Airplay was short-lived (a song "Stressed Out [Close to the Edge]" popped up on the St. Elmo's Fire soundtrack in 1985), both Foster and Graydon would continue to enjoy fruitful careers, working together and separately on various projects with artists like Chicago, Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, Al Jarreau, Herbie Hancock, and many others. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi