VIDEO: Jay Leno's heartbreaking 'Tonight Show' send-off

After 22 years as host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno is turning over the keys to Jimmy Fallon. Thursday marked Leno's final show as Billy Crystal came on to send his friend off into the sunset with a musical number and Garth Brooks tried to lift everyone's spirits after Leno cried while signing off.

The longtime Tonight Show host took a moment at the end of the program to thank his viewers. He praised their loyalty and wept as he said his final goodbye.

Boy, this is the hard part. I want to thank you, the audience. You folks have been, just, incredibly loyal. This is tricky. We wouldn't be on the air without you people. Secondly, this has been the greatest 22 years of my life. I am the luckiest guy in the world. I got to meet presidents, astronauts, movie stars. It's just been incredible. I got to work with lighting people who mae me look better than I really am. I got to work with sound people who made me sound better than I really do. I got to work with writers and producers... and, just, all kinds of talented people who make me seem smarter than I really am. I'll tell you something, the first year of this show, I lost my mom. The second year, I lost my dad. Then my brother died. After that, I was pretty much out of family. And the folks here became my family. Consequently, when they went through rough times, I tried to be there for them. The last time we left this show, you might remember, we had the 64 children that were born among all our staffers that married and that was a really great moment. And when people say to me, "Hey! Why didn't you go to ABC? Why didn't you go to FOX? Why didn't you go to..." Well, I didn't know anybody over there. These are the only people I've ever known. I'm also proud to say that this is a union show. And I have never worked with a more professional group of people in my life. They get paid good money and they do a good job. And when the guys and women on this show would show me the new car they bought or the house up here in Burbank that one of the guys bought, I felt I played a bigger role in their success than they played in mine. And that's a great feeling. And I'm happy for Jimmy Fallon. You know, it's fun to be the old guy and sit back here and see where the next generation takes this great institution and it really is. It's been a great institution for 60 years and I'm glad I got to be a part of it. But, it really is time to go and hand it off to the next guy. It really is. And, in closing, I want to quote Johnny Carson, who was the greatest guy to ever do this job. He said, "I bid you all a heartfelt goodbye."

Then Garth Brooks plays his immortal anthem, "Friends in Low Places."

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