Dierks Bentley was able to get his hands on history when he filmed the music video for his reimagined version of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 1976 classic, “American Girl.”
Flown in from his archives in California, the music video kicks off with Bentley strapping on Petty’s signature Rickenbacker guitar, a moment that the 48 year-old country star called “surreal.”
“Holding an instrument that carries so much musical history and significance was surreal, you could almost feel the stories resonate from it as I played it. Tom Petty’s lyrics and delivery were a huge part of what made his music so impactful.”
“American Girl” was written solely by Petty and was released on his band’s self-titled debut album in the late 70’s. Although it did not originally chart in the States, it is now considered as one of their most popular songs of all time, currently boasting almost 343 million streams on Spotify alone.
Dierks’ version was released last month as the lead single for the forthcoming tribute album, “PETTY COUNTRY: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.” The music video was shot at the Clementine, a historic wedding venue in Nashville, Tennessee, and directed by Wes Edwards, responsible for a handful of country music videos including “She’s Country” and “Amarillo Sky” by Jason Aldean, as well as “Humble and Kind” by Tim McGraw and numerous other Dierks Bentley videos.
Although the tracklist has not yet been revealed for the upcoming Tom Petty tribute record, you can expect it to be released by Big Machine, in partnership with the Tom Petty Estate, on May 31st.
Watch the music video here: