"American Girl" is the second single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' self-titled debut album. The single did not chart in the U.S. (until it was re-released in 1994, it only managed to peak at nine in Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singlesthough), but in the UK it peaked at No. 40 the week ending August 27, 1977. The song was ranked 76th on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone.[4]

The song was the final song performed by the band live, on September 25, 2017, at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California. Petty died of complications from cardiac arrest after an accidental prescription medication overdose on October 2, just over a week later, signaling the end of the Heartbreakers' 40 year career.

American Girl was written by Tom Petty around the time that 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.[5]

"American Girl" uses standard rock instrumentation of electric guitars, electric bass, drums, and keyboards. The tempo is fast and "urgent",[6] and is built on a repeated jangling guitar riff based on a "Bo Diddley beat".[7] 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."[4]