Played live, “American Girl” was always a showcase for the band’s exciting guitar solos.

The guitar parts contained very raw and rhythmic guitar comping that complemented the driving drumset feel. Musically, “American Girl” saw Petty and The Heartbreakers create a rock shuffle feel built around a melodic bass line. This song represented the end of innocence that was felt by baby-boomers during the 1970’s. She thought that she could fly and dove out of her dorm room window to her death. The story went that a prototypical all-American blond female student from The University of Florida took hallucinogens in her dorm room. Petty wrote the song about an urban myth that was set in his hometown of Gainesville, Florida. charts and produced the hits “I Need to Know” and “Listen to Her Heart.” “American Girl” by Tom Petty “American Girl” was never a big hit for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers but it became one of their most enduring songs. 1978’s You’re Gonna Get It! rose to number twenty-three on the U.S. It yielded the singles “American Girl,” “Breakdown,” and “Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll.” The album went to number fifty-five in England, establishing Petty and The Heartbreakers’ sound as distinct, yet with the clear influence of bands such as The Beatles and The Byrds. In 1976, they released their self-titled debut album Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. In 1976, Petty called on Campbell and Tench and added bassist Ron Blair and drummer Stan Lynch to form Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Petty continued to promote his songs and landed a record deal with Leon Russell’s Shelter Records.

Mudcrutch moved to Los Angeles but called it quits after struggling to make an impact. By 1971, that band evolved into Mudcrutch, featuring (future Heartbreakers) guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench. Petty began playing music in high school and formed a band called The Sundowners, who later became The Epics. Tom Petty was a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor from Gainesville, Florida born in 1950.

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