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With his infant son clinging to life, Chris Picco picked up a guitar and sang softly to the boy, urging him to "mend those broken wings and learn to fly".
After video of Picco performing the gentle Beatles' ballad Blackbird in a hospital intensive care ward was posted online, it quickly went viral on the internet. However, Picco's son died days after his mother, Ashley.
"My little fighter, Lennon James Picco, went to sleep in his daddy's arms late last night," the musician with the Loma Linda University Church's youth ministry wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
"He was dressed in an outfit that Ashley bought for him, with little guitars on it."
The song and other images Picco posted with his wife and their son brought an outpouring of grief to his Facebook page, YouTube and other sites.
"For the next few days, Chris is spending time with his family, his friends and his community while he continues to grieve," family friend Brett Walls said.

He added that Picco, who lives in Los Angeles, recognises the impact his video has had and hopes he might use it at some point to help others.
Picco and his wife, 30, were anticipating their son's birth in February when she became ill. Doctors delivered Lennon after Ashley died in her sleep. He was 16 weeks premature.
San Bernardino County coroner spokeswoman Sandy Fatland said an autopsy was performed but it could be weeks before Ashley Picco's cause of death is known.
The couple, who were married in 2007, met in New York when both were volunteers helping firefighters after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
After his wife's death, Picco sat with his son almost constantly, playing his guitar, singing and crying.
A close friend captured the video of him doing Blackbird.
"It's a song I really love, and I was looking to play songs that had kind of that melodic movement that might trigger something in him," Picco said.
He said it was his wife who inspired him to sing to their son, recalling that she had told him how the baby would always move in her womb every time music was played.
"So I brought my guitar today and gave him a little concert," he wrote on Facebook the day after his son's birth.
"Continue to pray for a miracle for my precious, perfect little guy!"


Chris Picco's song for his dying baby wins hearts on the internet

Chris Picco kisses the feet of his baby at the hospital. The video of him singing to the child has been an internet sensation. Photo: SCMP

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Grieving father delivers heart-rending version of the Beatles 'Blackbird'


With his infant son clinging to life, Chris Picco picked up a guitar and sang softly to the boy, urging him to "mend those broken wings and learn to fly".


Chris Picco's song for his dying baby wins hearts on the internet

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Grieving father delivers heart-rending version of the Beatles 'Blackbird'

Grieving father delivers heart-rending version of the Beatles 'Blackbird'