Heartbreaking Video Shows Chris Picco Singing 'Blackbird' to His Dying Son

Chris Picco turned to music during tragedy.

ByABC News
November 14, 2014, 8:24 AM
Musician Chris Picco performs "Blackbird" by the Beatles for his son Lennon in a video clip posted to YouTube, titled "Blackbird with Lennon."
Musician Chris Picco performs "Blackbird" by the Beatles for his son Lennon in a video clip posted to YouTube, titled "Blackbird with Lennon."
K.C. Hohensee/YouTube

— -- Musician Chris Picco's guitar echoes above the adjacent incubator, blending in some soothing chords amid the sadness.

“Blackbird fly, into the light of the dark black night/You were only waiting for this moment to arise,” he sings on a video clip, performing “Blackbird” by the Beatles, his most intimate performance.

Something had gone wrong during his wife, Ashley Picco’s, pregnancy.

The Loma Linda, California, couple’s baby boy, Lennon James Picco, was delivered by emergency C-section at 24 weeks on Nov. 8 and his mother, Ashley Picco, died the same day.

Lennon -- yes, the name was inspired by the musician -- faced his own obstacles because of oxygen deprivation.

During the pregnancy, Ashley would tell Chris how the baby would move around while they listened to music, he said. Additionally, Chris Picco had hoped to pass his love of music onto his son. Facing so much helplessness, Picco turned to music, performing songs as the incubator whirred and beeped.

"So I thought, I'm going to get my guitar. Ashley would want me to sing to my son and play to my son," he told ABC News station KABC in Los Angeles.

Lennon died on Nov. 11, dressed in an outfit featuring little guitars.

A friend of Picco’s uploaded a video clip online of the father playing “Blackbird” to his son, a gentle, tear-jerking tribute that has drawn worldwide attention and sympathy, with more than 5 million views.

A weekend memorial service is planned for Ashley and Lennon.

“I am so thankful for the four unforgettable days I got to spend with him,” he wrote on Facebook following his son’s death. “His mommy would have been so beyond joy to see him and to hold him, touch him, bathe him, sing to him -- as I have had the privilege of doing. I have been so blessed and honored to love him before he was formed, to cherish him while mommy carried him, meet him face to precious face, and hold his perfect little body while we said ‘goodbye for now.’”