On The Road, a seminal American novel by Jack Kerouac (his parents were Quebecois who moved to New England) was written in 1951 and published on Sept. 5, 1957. This NYT story finds it still resonates through pop culture today:

Part of the reason for the novel’s staying power is that popular artists keep referencing it. (A new movie version, directed by Walter Salles, who made “The Motorcycle Diaries,” is scheduled to go into production early next year.) Everyone from Bob Dylan to the Beastie Boys has been inspired by Kerouac. More recently the Hold Steady, an indie rock group, quoted “On the Road” on its album “Boys and Girls in America.”

With his bad-boy image and untethered work ethic, Kerouac “is like the rock ’n’ roll version of a writer,” said Joe Landry, 31, the lead singer for the Antecedents, a Portland, Ore., band. Like many other groups, the Antecedents list him as an influence on their MySpace page.