This video of a teenager receiving a birthday gift from his late father is enough to turn any metalhead into mush.
16-year-old Johnny Crow has been grieving over his 49-year-old dad’s death since the heart attack struck in April. Johnny did not know until last week, however, that his father left behind something special that will help him remember the relationship through the music.
Chandler then handed Johnny a birthday card from their father wishing the teen a happy birthday, and expressing the hope that he would enjoy the gift.
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The music store workers then revealed a guitar case containing a Dean Razorback guitar: the exact model that Johnny had always wanted.
Johnny’s dad had actually ordered the guitar for his son back in January – Chandler and the Port Huron Music Center staff had simply been keeping the guitar under wraps for a month before the big reveal.
“About a month ago I dropped Johnny off at his guitar lesson, and one of the amazing instructors told me there was something I should see. When she showed me I just dropped to my knees, I just couldn’t believe it,” wrote Chandler. “But I had to keep it a secret until his birthday. So this morning I woke up and picked up my brother from school and blindfolded him. Drove him to the music center and this is the outcome.”
While Johnny’s reaction to the gift is a tearjerker on its own, the kindness doesn’t stop there.
The Reddit community heard the story of Johnny’s late father and started asking how they could make donations towards the teen’s guitar lessons. Johnny’s music teacher came forward and explained that the music store had a Paypal account – anyone wanting to financially contribute to his lessons could submit a donation with the caption reading “Happy Birthday, Johnny”.
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Over $16,000 has since been donated. The Crow family will be consulting a lawyer on how best to use the money for the teen’s livelihood.
The young musician was also gifted two tickets for his birthday to see Alice Cooper, and Metal star Nita Strauss contacted Johnny’s guitar teacher, Pete Kruse, and insisted on providing backstage passes for the family in their father’s honor.
“Hey guys, Nita from Alice Cooper here,” wrote Nita. “Just messaged [Pete Kruse] to let him know that I’ll take care of passes for John to come backstage and say hi to Alice and the band at our show. I watched this video a bunch of times earlier today before I even knew he was coming to a show, and sent it to a bunch of guitar player friends… such an amazing moment!! Can’t wait to meet John and the family!!”
(WATCH the video below)
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