From Wikipedia:
In 1940, Woody Guthrie recorded a ballad called "Tom Joad". This ballad, set to the tune of "John Hardy", summarizes the plot of the book and movie. It was so long that it had to be recorded in two parts. Guthrie, a native of Oklahoma, wrote the song after seeing the movie, which he described as the "best cussed pitcher I ever seen".
The Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt composed a cantata for mezzo-soprano and orchestra called "The Turtle", using an excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath.
Kris Kristofferson's 1981 single "Here Comes That Rainbow Again" is based on a scene from the book.
The Grapes of Wrath was a popular Canadian alternative rock band from 1984 to 1994.
On Pink Floyd's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the opening lines for the song "Sorrow" are paraphrased from the beginning of a chapter in The Grapes of Wrath: "Sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land."
In 1991, the English progressive rock band Camel recorded an album Dust and Dreams inspired by The Grapes of Wrath.
In 1995, Bruce Springsteen recorded his song "The Ghost of Tom Joad" on the album of the same name. The lyric is set in contemporary times, but the third verse quotes Tom's famous "wherever there's a ..." lines. The song was later recorded by Rage Against The Machine, José González's band Junip, and others. Springsteen has stated that he was first inspired by the John Ford film.
"Broken Plow", a song on Chris Knight's 2003 album "The Jealous Kind", closely follows the books plot and captures the feeling of it. In his own words he "basically paraphrased the book."[