Long before there were salt of the earth people getting instantly rich off the lottery, only to curse the windfall they had received, there was a tiny little nugget of a novel called The Pearl. The novel was published by John Steinbeck in 1947. The Pearl has been influential on popular singers. Below are a number of songs based on--or influenced by--The Pearl. "Angry"                 Matchbox 20          "Colored People"                  dc talk "Colors of the Wind"