Chords for Johnny Maestro - Dad's Speech for Johnny Maestro

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_ _ _ Thank you for letting me go. _ _
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_ This is [G#m] my daughter, Carrie.
I brought her up here for moral support.
[F#m] I'm [N] very nervous. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ First let me say that I am honored that I was asked to speak here today.
And I'm humbled in the presence of Johnny's peers.
To Johnny's wife, Grace, and [F#] his [C#] family, plus all the members of [G] the Brooklyn Bridge and
their families, I offer my [N] sincere condolences. _
_ My connection with Johnny is through my son, FDNY firefighter Michael Kiefer.
_ Michael was only 25, but he loved the oldies music, with Johnny being his favorite.
_ Michael loved the way Johnny sang, plus [G] he also told me that he thought that [N] their black
and white shoes were very cool. _
I will always cherish the times that we [G] went to his concerts at Westbury Music Fair or
wherever he was playing. _ _
_ _ All that ended for me on September 11, _ _ 2001.
[N] _ _ Michael was one of six men from Ladder 132 in Brooklyn, New York, who answered the call
on that fatal day.
_ _ We never had a recovery of Michael.
Nothing.
_ It's like he went to work that morning and went straight to heaven.
_ _ _ So after months of hearing nothing from the medical examiner's office, in July of 2002,
we decided to have his funeral. _ _ _ _
[A#] In planning for the funeral, [F#] I felt I had to reach [N] out to Johnny and the Bridge to let
them know what a fan Michael was, and also to ask if they would sing Ave Maria at his funeral mass. _ _
I spoke with Les Couchie of the group, who couldn't have been more kind and sympathetic to me.
_ He said they would do it in a minute.
_ _ [C#] They were booked in Rhode Island the night [E] before and logistically couldn't make it.
_ [D#] _ _ [D] We [F#] finally hooked up in April of _ [G] _ 2003, [G#] when they graciously accepted my invitation for
them to sing at an FDNY plaque [C#] dedication ceremony for Michael at the Brooklyn Botanical
_ Gardens.
This [N] was my first meeting face-to-face with Johnny and the group.
They all spoke of 9-11 and how we must never forget. _ _
But it was Johnny who impressed me the most. _
He didn't say much.
He just had that wonderful smile. _
_ He put his arm around my shoulder and said that Michael's memory will never die, and
whenever it needs to be done, just tell me where and just tell me when.
_ [A#m] Well, _ he put on a [N] tremendous show that day for over 300 firemen who really needed an
uplift after [G#m] the events of 9 [A#m]-11. _ _
_ [N] When we decided to have a Doo-Wop Memorial fundraiser in Michael's name in October of
2004, it was Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge again who answered the call and headlined the event. _
_ To hear him talk of Michael during the show and dedicate You'll Never Walk [F#] Alone to him
_ brought me back [C#] to those wonderful times Michael and I had at Westbury [N] Music Fair. _
To me, _ it was better than any therapy a doctor could give.
_ _ Since then, we have held this memorial fundraiser every year, _ and last October 2009, _ [C] although
he was very sick and didn't want anyone [G] to know, _ Johnny insisted on performing and honoring
Michael one last time, and for that, [N] I will be ever grateful. _
_ Throughout the years, Johnny and the Brooklyn Bridge have become more than just friends to me.
They have become family, and families stick together.
So now, in their time of grief and sorrow, I offer myself to them. _
As Johnny would say, whatever needs to be done, _ just tell me where, just tell me when. _ _ _
Many of Johnny's songs spoke of angels.
Well, _ the trouble in paradise for me is _ _ that God took him too soon.
Thank you.
_ _ Thank you. _ _ _ _