American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)

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"American Girl" is a song written by American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tom Petty and recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for their eponymous 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 a single from Petty's Greatest Hits album and peaked at No. 68 on the US Cash Box Top 100. 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." 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...

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