Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Dierks Bentley said it was “one of the coolest moments” to have the honor of playing Tom Petty’s guitar while covering one of the late singer-songwriter’s 70s anthems with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Bentley premiered the music video to his version of “American Girl” with CMT on Thursday (March 21). The track appears on the forthcoming, star-studded tribute album PETTY COUNTRY: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.
Bentley opened the video with a shot of Petty’s signature Rickenbacker guitar, which was flown in from his archives in California for the music video, per a press release issued Thursday. Bentley filmed the music video at the Clementine in Nashville, Tennessee, teaming up with his band — which includes fellow singer-songwriter Charlie Worsham — to film the Wes Edwards-directed video.
“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,” Bentley said in a statement. “Tom Petty's lyrics and delivery were a huge part of what made his music so impactful.”
Bentley’s version of “American Girl” released last month. He performed the 1976 classic when he took the stage during a surprise appearance at the 2024 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The Phoenix, Arizona-born country artist wrote in an Instagram caption at that time: “When you get asked to reimagine one of the greatest rock & roll songs of all time by one of the most iconic American musicians of all time, the first thing you do is call up some of the greatest acoustic pickers of all time for the assist! My version of [‘American Girl’] honoring [Tom Petty] is out today!”