American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)
{{Short description|1976 rock song}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name = American Girl
| cover = American Girl - Tom Petty.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
| album = Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
| B-side = The Wild One, Forever
| released = {{Start date|1977|2}}
| recorded = July 4, 1976
| studio = Shelter Studios, Hollywood
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Power pop{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/feb/11/power-pop-10-of-the-best|title=Powerpop: 10 of the best|last=Lester|first=Paul|date=February 11, 2015|website=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian News and Media|access-date=July 29, 2016}}{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130849/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article5599012.ece|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article5599012.ece|title=Power pop: Encyclopedia of Modern Music|date=1 February 2009|work=The Sunday Times|archive-date=15 June 2011|first=Dan|last=Cairns|access-date= 19 December 2024}}|jangle pop{{cite web|url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/12/jangle-bell-rock-a-chronological-non-holiday-antho.html?a=1|title= Jangle Bell Rock: A Chronological (Non-Holiday) Anthology… from The Beatles and Byrds to R.E.M. and Beyond|last= LaBate|first= Steve|date= December 18, 2009|website= Paste|access-date= March 2, 2017|archive-date= November 20, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181120095403/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/12/jangle-bell-rock-a-chronological-non-holiday-antho.html?a=1|url-status= dead}}|{{nowrap|pop rock}}{{cite book|first=Ira A.|last=Robbins|title=The Trouser Press guide to new wave records|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XvZDAQAAIAAJ|date=January 1983|publisher=C. Scribner's Sons|isbn=978-0-684-17943-8|page=227}}|heartland rock|new wave{{cite web|last= Pitchfork Staff |title= The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s |website= Pitchfork |date= August 22, 2016 |url= https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9935-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1970s/?page=3|quote= Sonically, it’s the platonic ideal for American rock music: Bo Diddley meets the Byrds, updated for new wave.|accessdate= October 13, 2022}}}}
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=35}}
| label = Shelter
| writer = Tom Petty
| producer = Denny Cordell
| prev_title = Breakdown
| prev_year = 1977
| next_title = I Need to Know
| next_year = 1978
| misc = {{External music video|header=Official audio|{{YouTube|8v8-RSyuUeE|"American Girl"}}}}
{{Extra chronology
| artist = Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
| type = single
| prev_title = Something in the Air
| prev_year = 1994
| title = American Girl
| version = reissue
| year = 1994
| next_title = You Don't Know How It Feels
| next_year = 1994
}}
}}
"American Girl" is a rock song written by American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tom Petty and recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for their self-titled debut album (1976). It was released as a single in February 1977 by Shelter Records and did not chart in the United States, but peaked at No. 40 in the UK for the week ending August 27, 1977. It was re-released in 1994 as the second single from Petty's Greatest Hits album and peaked at No. 68 on the US Cash Box Top 100.{{Cite web |url=http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/popmusichistory/Charts/Cash%20Box%201990s%20(By%20Artist).pdf |title=U.S. Cash Box Chart Entries – 1990 – 1996 |access-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722235226/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/popmusichistory/Charts/Cash%20Box%201990s%20(By%20Artist).pdf |archive-date=July 22, 2018 |url-status=dead }}
Despite limited chart success, "American Girl" became one of Petty's most popular songs and a staple of classic rock. It has been consistently rated as his best song, only surpassed by "Free Fallin'" otherwise, and one of the best rock songs of all time, and has been called "more than a classic rock standard — it's practically part of the American literary canon."{{cite news |last1=Unterberger |first1=Andrew |title=Critic's Picks: The 20 Greatest Tom Petty Songs |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/20-greatest-tom-petty-songs-critics-picks-1045337 |access-date=April 14, 2019 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=October 3, 2017 |language=en}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/32|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531001214/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/32 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 31, 2008 |title=The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time : Rolling Stone |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=May 31, 2008 |access-date=October 12, 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Hann |first1=Michael |title=From Free Fallin' to American Girl: five of the greatest Tom Petty songs |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/03/free-fallin-american-girl-five-greatest-tom-petty-songs |access-date=April 14, 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=October 3, 2017}}{{cite magazine |title=20 Awesome 'America' Songs |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/list/513475/america-songs-fourth-of-july-playlist |access-date=April 14, 2019 |magazine=Billboard |date=July 2, 2015}}{{cite magazine |title=Tom Petty's 50 Greatest Songs |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/tom-pettys-50-greatest-songs-197807/american-girl-197832/ |access-date=April 14, 2019 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=October 2, 2017}} It has also been used in several movies and television shows, often during a scene in which a character, much like the protagonist in the song's lyrics, is "longing for something bigger than their current existence."{{cite magazine |last1=Edwards |first1=Gavin |title='American Girl' Sums Up Everything Great About Tom Petty |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7989328/tom-petty-summed-up-everything-great-american-girl |access-date=April 14, 2019 |magazine=Billboard |date=October 6, 2017}}
"American Girl" was the last song performed in concert by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They played it to close out the encore of their performance on September 25, 2017, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, the final concert of their 40th Anniversary Tour. Petty died of complications from cardiac arrest after an accidental prescription medication overdose on October 2, just over a week later.{{cite magazine |last1=Perrigo |first1=Billy |title=Watch Tom Petty Close his Last Ever Concert |url=https://time.com/4967365/tom-petty-last-ever-concert/ |access-date=April 14, 2019 |magazine=Time |date=October 3, 2017 |language=en}}
It is ranked number 169 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers-american-girl-1225169/|title=American Girl ranked #169 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=September 15, 2021|access-date=September 23, 2021}}
Composition and recording
"American Girl" was written by Petty around the time he and the Heartbreakers signed their first recording contract. It was recorded on the 4th of July in 1976, the Bicentennial of the United States.{{Cite magazine |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Molly |date=October 3, 2017 |title=Why Tom Petty's "American Girl" is perfect |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/10/03/why-tom-pettys-american-girl-is-perfect/ |magazine=The Village Voice}}
"American Girl" uses standard rock instrumentation of electric guitars, electric bass, drums, and keyboards. The tempo is fast and "urgent,"{{cite web|first=Laren |last=Stover |url=http://www.observer.com/node/43198 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928094048/http://www.observer.com/node/43198 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 28, 2010 |title=Richard E. Grant's Sensuous Obsession |publisher=Observer |access-date=October 12, 2016}} and is built on a repeated jangling guitar riff based on a "Bo Diddley beat."{{cite web |first=Bill |last=Dean |url=http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080602/NEWS/646390738/1002/NEWS?p=3&tc=pg&tc=ar |title=Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies |work=Gainesville Sun |date=June 2, 2008 |access-date=October 12, 2016 |archive-date=April 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403080308/http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080602/NEWS/646390738/1002/NEWS?p=3&tc=pg&tc=ar |url-status=dead }} As described in Rolling Stone, "The supercharged riff set the template for decades of Petty hits, but it was also an homage to the Byrds: Petty and Mike Campbell's twin guitars mirrored Roger McGuinn's 12-string, infusing the folk-rock sounds of the 1960s with New Wave energy."
=Lyrics and rumors=
Image:Beatty Towers - UF.jpg campus as seen from Route 441 ]]
Due to lyrics about a desperate girl on a balcony hearing "cars roll by out on 441," the song has long been rumored to be about a college student who committed suicide by jumping from the Beaty Towers residence hall at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville. The {{convert|160|ft|m}} dormitory is located on the edge of campus alongside US Route 441 and opened in 1967, when Petty was a teenager living across town.{{cite news |title=A look inside UF residence halls |url=https://residencehalls.alligator.org/ |work=The Independent Florida Alligator |language=en}}
While the university did not historically keep records of on-campus suicides, a UF spokesman asserted that no one has died by jumping from Beaty Towers, which would be a difficult endeavor since the building has narrow unopenable windows but no balconies, and that Petty himself refuted the story when asked in person during a 2006 visit.Enkerud, Mark. [http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_28668d1f-4473-57b1-9d52-ddce62158263.html "UF campus holds decades of legends, ghost stories"] The Independent Florida Alligator August 16, 2009Wilmath, Kim. [https://archive.today/20070527080904/http://www.alligator.org/pt2/070815legends.php "Myths, legends and UF"] The Independent Florida Alligator Online, August 15, 2007. Retrieved on February 29, 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.jou.ufl.edu/pubs/onb/S02/rock2.htm |title=Working On A Mystery |first=Kelley |last=Bartholomew |date=2002 |work=Orange & Blue Magazine |access-date=October 10, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228132005/http://www.jou.ufl.edu/pubs/onb/s02/rock2.htm |archive-date=December 28, 2015 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/americangirl.asp |title='American Girl' Suicide |website=Snopes.com |date=August 10, 2006 |access-date=October 12, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Rolland |first=David |url=http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/music/running-down-a-dream-tracking-tom-pettys-florida-roots-in-gainesville-6415455 |title=Running Down a Dream: Tracking Tom Petty's Florida Roots in Gainesville | New Times Broward-Palm Beach |website=Browardpalmbeach.com |date=September 16, 2014 |access-date=October 12, 2016}}
In the book Conversations with Tom Petty, the musician stated that the supposed tragic origin of the song was simply an urban legend:
{{Blockquote|It's become a huge urban myth down in Florida. That's just not at all true. The song has nothing to do with that. But that story really gets around... They've really got the whole story. I've even seen magazine articles about that story. "Is it true or isn't it true?" They could have just called me and found out it wasn't true.Zollo, Paul. Conversations with Tom Petty (2005) p.195-196}}
In the same interview, Petty explained that he wrote the song while living in California:{{blockquote|I was living in an apartment where I was right by the freeway. And the cars would go by. In Encino, near Leon Russell's house. And I remember thinking that that sounded like the ocean to me. That was my ocean. My Malibu. Where I heard the waves crash, but it was just the cars going by. I think that must have inspired the lyric.}}
The opening line lyric "raised on promises" echoes a line of dialogue in Francis Ford Coppola's 1963 film, Dementia 13. Referring to another woman, the character Louise says (at minute 17), "Especially an American girl. You can tell she's been raised on promises."Stroumboulopoulos, George. [http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/news/nod-to-the-gods-tom-petty-the-heartbreakers-american-girl " Nod to the Gods: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, 'American Girl'"], CBC.ca, April 6, 2014.
Single track listings
- "American Girl" b/w "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)"
Shelter 62007 {{small|(US)}} - "American Girl" b/w "The Wild One, Forever"
Shelter WIP6377 {{small|(UK)}} - "American Girl" b/w "Luna" {{small|(Live)}} *
Shelter WIP6403 {{small|(UK)}}
* taken from The Official Live Bootleg
Personnel
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Tom Petty – rhythm guitar {{small|(played in unison with Campbell)}}, lead and backing vocals{{Cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/tom-petty-american-girl/|title=How Tom Petty Crafted the Legacy-Defining 'American Girl'|website=UltimateClassicRock|year=2022 |language=en|access-date=August 27, 2023}}
- Mike Campbell – lead guitar, rhythm guitar {{small|(played in unison with Petty)}}
- Ron Blair – bass guitar
- Stan Lynch – drums
- Benmont Tench – piano, Hammond organ
with
- Phil Seymour – backing vocals
Reception
"American Girl" is widely considered one of Petty's greatest works. The song was ranked number one on Billboard{{'}}s list of Petty's 20 greatest songs and on Rolling Stone{{'}}s list of Petty's 50 greatest songs.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/tom-petty-songs-best-hits-list-7982072/|title=The 20 Best Tom Petty Songs|first=Andrew|last=Unterberger|magazine=Billboard|date=October 3, 2017|accessdate=February 8, 2022}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/tom-pettys-50-greatest-songs-197807/american-girl-197832/|title=Tom Petty: 50 Greatest Songs|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=November 28, 2020|accessdate=February 8, 2022}} Cash Box said that it "rides along with a nice thump and an unusual, syncopated instrumental section."{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=May 21, 1977|page=26|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=December 26, 2021|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1977/CB-1977-05-21.pdf}}
Charts
Original release
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1977)
! Peak |
|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"| 40 |
Reissue
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1994)
! Peak |
|---|
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard){{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/tom-petty-songs-best-hits-list-7982072/|title=Tom Petty's 20 Greatest Songs: Critic's Picks |first=Andrew |last=Unterberger |date=October 3, 2017 |magazine=Billboard}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 |
| US Cash Box Top 100
| style="text-align:center;"| 68 |
2017
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (2017)
! Peak |
|---|
| US Rock Digital Song Sales (Billboard){{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers/|title = Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers|magazine = Billboard}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers|title=American Girl|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2021|id=17283-98-1|access-date=June 4, 2021|note=sales since 2004}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
Dierks Bentley version
{{Infobox song
| name = American Girl
| type = single
| artist = Dierks Bentley
| album = Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty
| released = February 23, 2024
| length = 3:03
| label = * Valory
| writer = Tom Petty
| producer = Jon Randall
| chronology = Dierks Bentley
| prev_title = Something Real
| prev_year = 2023
| next_title = She Hates Me
| next_year = 2025
}}
American country music artist Dierks Bentley released a version of the song on February 23, 2024, as the first single from the 2024 compilation album Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty. It was produced by Jon Randall.
=Music video=
The video was directed by Wes Edwards and was released on March 21, 2024.
=Commercial performance=
"American Girl" debuted at number 25 on the Country Airplay chart for the week ending March 9, 2024, and reached a peak of number 22 on the chart in November.{{cite magazine|url=http://bulletins.billboard.com/country/country_update_2024_1101.pdf|title=Billboard Country Update|magazine=Billboard|date=November 1, 2024|access-date=November 2, 2024}}
=Charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col" | Chart (2024)
! scope="col" | Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardcanadacountry|38|artist=Dierks Bentley|rowheader=true|access-date=April 16, 2024}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardcountryairplay|22|artist=Dierks Bentley|rowheader=true|access-date=November 2, 2024}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|49|artist=Dierks Bentley|rowheader=true|access-date=March 5, 2024}} |
In popular culture
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed the song on the BBC2 television show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1978.{{cite AV media|title=The Old Grey Whistle Test|medium=DVD|publisher=Warner Home Video|year=2003}}
The song has been featured in several Hollywood films and episodes of television shows, most notably FM (1978), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Sopranos (1999), Scrubs (2001), Chasing Liberty (2004), Parks and Recreation (2009), Ricki and the Flash (2015) and The Handmaid's Tale (2017). Its use in The Silence of the Lambs made the list of Top 11 Uses of Classic Rock in Cinema at UGO.{{cn|date=July 2024}}
According to Petty, The Strokes have admitted to taking the riff for their 2001 single, "Last Nite", from this song. In a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Petty said "The Strokes took 'American Girl', and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you.' It doesn't bother me."{{cite web|url=http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/news/33831760 |title=Tom Petty News on Yahoo! Music |publisher=Ca.music.yahoo.com |access-date=August 13, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718133958/http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/news/33831760| archive-date= July 18, 2011 | url-status= live}} The Strokes played as an opening act for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for several dates of their 2006 tour.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1535798/hilary-duff-plans-clothing-line-females.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231222112/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1535798/hilary-duff-plans-clothing-line-females.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 31, 2013 |title=For The Record: Quick News On Hilary Duff, Katharine McPhee, Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Snoop Dogg, Bam Margera & More |publisher=MTV |access-date=October 12, 2016}}
Cover versions
Roger McGuinn of The Byrds (a major influence on Petty's music), released his own version of "American Girl" on his Thunderbyrd LP in 1977. The similarity between Petty's record and The Byrds' musical style was so strong that when his manager first played "American Girl" for him, McGuinn asked "When did I write that song?""McGuinn Takes It Easy As Comeback Takes Off" Austin American-Statesman May 13, 1991: B8
"American Girl" has also been covered by various other artists including: The Killers, The Shins, Jason Isbell, Green Day, Elle King, Taylor Swift, and Pearl Jam.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}
All album appearances
{{div col}}
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
- Pack Up the Plantation: Live!
- Greatest Hits
- Playback
- Anthology: Through the Years
- Runnin' Down a Dream
- The Live Anthology
- Mojo Tour 2010 {{small|(Live Version)}}
{{div col end}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers}}
{{Dierks Bentley}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:American new wave songs
Category:Everclear (band) songs
Category:Songs written by Tom Petty
Category:University of Florida
Category:Shelter Records singles
Category:Island Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Denny Cordell