I'm leaning into the oldies. These are all terrific songs to accompany this novel and will get you started.
For the opening chapter, where Nick reconnects with Tom and Daisy and has dinner at their house, I would first suggest "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. It comes to mind because of all the allusions to The Odyssey and journeying by sea in Gatsby. For example, the wine-colored carpet in the room where Nick sits with Daisy and Jordan is like the wine-dark sea in Homer, and the curtains and dresses billowing in the breeze are like sails. The lyrics of the song also capture Daisy's desire to escape to some place better than overhearing her husband setting up a rendezvous with his mistress. The lyrics foreshadow as well Gatsby's desire to return to innocence and the idea that Nick himself, by getting involved with the Buchanans, is embarking on a...
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voyage of discovery.
"Let it Be" by the Beatles could act as a warning to Daisy not to try to get back at Tom through Gatsby. She is in "times of trouble" because of Tom's infidelities, and could heed the song's warning:
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
In the next chapter, when Nick meets Myrtle and accompanies Myrtle and Tom to Myrtle's New York apartment for a party, the focus would turn to Myrtle and her desire to escape the grinding life of poverty in the Valley of Ashes. We know she's with Tom because he's rich and can buy her things. A Madonna song captures this mindset: "Material Girl." In "Material Girl," Madonna sings:
Only boys who save their pennies
Make my rainy day
'Cause we're living in a material world
And I am a material girl.
A Cyndi Lauper song, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," also captures Myrtle's mindset and could be used as an ironic overlay to the party at her apartment, which buzzkill Tom makes anything but fun:
I wanna be the one to walk in the sun / Oh girls they wanna have fun.
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" could also be used for the Gatsby party chapter, as could Prince's "Party Like it's 1999":
We could all die here today, uhh
But before I'll let that happen
I'll dance my life away
I'd use Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" as an overlay for Gatsby reuniting with Daisy. It captures all his yearning for her:
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
'Til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you
For Daisy, try "I'm a Pretender" by the Exploding Hearts: "I'm a pretender at the game of love."
For the chapter where Tom confronts Gatsby over the affair with Daisy, I'd enter Tom's point of view and use "Send in the Clowns" by Judy Collins or "Get Back" by the Beatles.
Finally, for the chapter in which George kills Gatsby, the music would reflect George's point of view with The Police's "Every Breath you Take":
Every breath you take and every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you.
For the end of the novel, I'd also enter Nick's point of view on both Gatsby, who did turn out all right in the end, and the Buchanans, who don't leave much lost love behind, with the Beatles' "The End":
And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make
There are an almost-unlimited number of possibilities here! I'll outline a few and leave it to you to determine which might be the best fit and with which chapter.
I'm aware of three specific songs that were inspired by the artist's reading of Gatsby:
- Eric Carmen's "Boats Against the Current"--an obvious reference to the last lines of the novel and the general themes.
- Elliott Murphy's "Like a Great Gatsby"--an exploration of some of the character traits and faults of Gatsby himself.
- David Bowie's "Can You Hear Me"--about love and relationships.
There are any number of other songs that might also connect to The Great Gatsby in a variety of ways:
- Paul Thorn's "Downtown Babylon"
- Neil Diamond's "America"
- Jimi Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand"
- Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" and "The River"
- Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" and "America"
- David Massengill's "Great American Dream"
- David Wilcox's "Rusty Old American Dream"
I'm sure others will identify many other songs as well.
Here are some ideas:
Chapter 2: "City Lights" by Lucky Boys Confusion. It talks about being addicted to the city and needing the chaos to create calmness within oneself. It also deals with the concept of moving, which Nick has moved and is dealing with.
Chapter 3: There are a ton of "party" themed songs you pick for talking about this chapter!
Pink's "Get this party started" would be great to talk about the crazy vibe at Gatsby's party, however you can address the fact that Gatsby's role at the party is different than the one Pink is portraying.
"Well did you ev'ah" by Cole Porter (Robbie Williams does a cover) This song would be perfect, specifically because of the time period it was written. it deals with the rumors and stories being told at a party which are either inappropriate or absurd.
For more specific situations you could also use songs like:
"face down" by Red Jump Suit Apparatus to talk about the abuse that Daisy endures, with the cruel behavior and treatment from Tom. (Abuse is not always physical, it can be mental)
"Dissapearing Boy," by Green Day to describe Pammy, the child who really is invisible.