George Strait and his son George "Bubba" Strait Jr. poses with award at the 50th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards on October 29, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. Credit : Rick Diamond/Getty ...

On Monday, George paid tribute to his fellow country legend, who died last week at the age of 73. In his sweet message, the “King of Country Music” thanked Johnny for paving the way.

George Strait and his son George "Bubba" Strait Jr. poses with award at the 50th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards on October 29, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. George Strait keeps his children ...

For nearly 45 years, Strait has remained as dependable as the hot sun in July. The last time one of his studio albums failed to land in the Top 5 of the country chart was in 1982.