Photo of John Mayer by Jeffrey R. Staab
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Ray Romano says John Mayer's recent performance of Don McLean's 1971 hit single "American Pie" on Late Show made him "very emotional" as he thought of host David Letterman's looming retirement.

Letterman's Worldwide Pants produced Everybody Loves Raymond, giving struggling comedian Romano a career launch he wouldn't have had otherwise, something the TV star has emphasized as Letterman prepares to vacate his late-night post this Wednesday.

Explaining that their "friendship has kind of always been like father and son in that I knew he loved me, even though he never told me," Romano says he "got very emotional watching Mayer's performance because "I grew up with that song and I was thinking of the lyrics, 'The day the music died.' Now I'm thinking, 'Well, May 20 — that's gonna be the day that the comedy dies, too.'"

Letterman's final episode of Late Show airs Wednesday (May 20) at 10:35 p.m. EST.