“As far back as I can remember, music has always been a big part of my life,” says Quaid. “My third cousin was Gene Autry, the original Western movie singing cowboy. My grandmother played piano and sang songs from the ’20s, songs from her youth. My dad played piano and crooned like Bing Crosby and looked a little like Dean Martin.”

 

Among Quaid’s musical heroes are Buddy Holly, Hank Williams, Willie & Waylon, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, the Doors, and James Brown. With influences like those, it’s no surprise that members of the Sharks have serious musical pedigrees of their own: Jamie James led the Kingbees; Sharks members Tom Mancillas, Ken Stange, and Tom Walsh have worked over the years with artists as varied as Harry Dean Stanton, Roger Miller, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Supertramp, Jose Feliciano, and America.

 

Now, Dennis Quaid & the Sharks have made the first studio album of their 18-year history. On Out of the Box you’ll find they specialize in “rock ’n’ roll and country-soul,” or as Quaid calls it, “a junkyard of American music.”

 

The album is produced by Quaid and James. Cut at the legendary Village Studios in Los Angeles, it’s filled with original songs by Quaid alongside choice covers of the Doors, Van Morrison, and Larry Williams.