Hi Linda,
I have been puzzling over your conundrum since last night and have only just come up with a possible solution...
Of necessity, this explanation is going to be fairly lengthy as I don't have the advantage of any other clues; however, on the basis that the clue contains solely the song title [and not the artist as well], I am going to suggest:
DONNA
Assuming that one can refer to MADONNA as an American symbol [and it's a moot point], if you take away MA [has no mother] then you are left with this song title. Although 10cc had a hit with a similarly-named single, the artist most commonly associated with this title is RICHIE VALENS, who was killed in 1959 along with the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly. I would be curious to know whether one of the other answers happens to be 'Chantilly Lace [Big Bopper] as this would give me an insight into the compiler's thinking.
Best wishes,
Caravaggio