Chris Stapleton stepped into the shoes of the late Tom Petty on Wednesday evening, Sept. 16, to perform a round of songs alongside the Heartbreakers as part of their special reunion during the Americana Honors & Awards Show, held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
While onstage, Stapleton — an eight-time CMA Male Vocalist of the Year winner — took the microphone to deliver a rollicking rendition of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s 1977 classic “American Girl.”
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Backed by founding members Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch, and Ron Blair, Stapleton led the group through the song about a girl looking to escape and yearning for more out of life. He showcased his signature raucous country vocals on the tune while also playing guitar as shown in the YouTube clip below.
Solely written by Petty, “American Girl” appears on the Heartbreakers’ eponymous 1976 album, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The track, surprisingly, didn’t top the charts in the U.S. But while it was never a No. 1 hit, “American Girl” has become a beloved tune in the group’s catalog, even ranking at No. 169 on Rolling Stone’s list of “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
The appearance marked the first time the original Heartbreakers lineup had performed together in 24 years, since their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The event was also the first time the group joined forces on stage since Petty’s death in 2017 at age 66.
Aside from “American Girl,” Stapleton played guitar on the band’s 1976 rock classic, “Breakdown,” and Petty’s 1995 solo song, “You Wreck Me,” with later Heartbreaker members, Steve Ferrone and Scott Thurston, stepping in to jam along onstage.
Petty’s daughter, Adria Petty, was also on hand to accept an award posthumously presented to the late icon by Stapleton.
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“I don’t know if I could have seen anyone else play with the Heartbreakers and felt so much soul and trust in what he just did here tonight,” Adria said of Stapleton, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.
Dolly Parton, who passed away on Aug. 26, 2026, at age 80, was also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, as was Robert Plant.
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