Editing American Graffiti (section)

==Soundtrack==
{{Main|41 Original Hits from the Soundtrack of American Graffiti}}
The choice of music was crucial to the mood of each scene; it is [[diegetic music]] that the characters themselves can hear and therefore becomes an integral part of the action.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.filmmusicnotes.com/diegetic-music-non-diegetic-music-and-source-scoring/ |title=Richards, Mark. 'Diegetic Music, Non-Diegetic Music, and "Source Scoring"' in ''Film Music Notes'', 21 April 2013 |date=May 4, 2013 |access-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-date=February 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207184004/http://www.filmmusicnotes.com/diegetic-music-non-diegetic-music-and-source-scoring/ |url-status=live }}</ref> George Lucas had to be realistic about the complexities of copyright clearances, though, and suggested a number of alternative tracks. Universal wanted Lucas and producer Gary Kurtz to hire an orchestra for [[sound-alike]]s. The studio eventually proposed a flat deal that offered every music publisher the same amount of money. This was acceptable to most of the companies representing Lucas's first choices, but not to [[RCA]]—with the consequence that [[Elvis Presley]] is conspicuously absent from the soundtrack.<ref name=sound/> Clearing the [[music licensing]] rights had cost approximately $90,000,<ref name=Marcia /> and as a result, no money was left for a traditional [[film score]]. "I used the absence of music, and sound effects, to create the drama," Lucas later explained.<ref name=Jesus/>

When it came to the ending credits, only the song's title, artist, and the record label was listed. However, the names of the composers and lyricists, as well as the publishing company and the copyright year, were completely left out. This resulted in several of the songwriters filing lawsuits against MCA for leaving their names out of the credits. A settlement was reached in which MCA paid the damages to the songwriters, as well as to the publishing companies.

A soundtrack album for the film, ''[[41 Original Hits from the Soundtrack of American Graffiti]]'', was issued by [[MCA Records]]. The album contains all the songs used in the film (with the exception of "Gee" by the Crows, which was subsequently included on a second soundtrack album), presented in the order in which they appeared in the film.