Congratulations are in order for Rhett Akins, who has been named the Academy of Country Music's Songwriter of the Decade!
He was presented with the award in a surprise backstage ceremony during his son Thomas Rhett's tour stop in Chicago, Illinois.
It's the second of seven new "Decade" Awards announced earlier this month by the ACM; the first of which was the ACM Song of the Decade, which went to "The House That Built Me," performed by Miranda Lambert and written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin.
A small sample of songs written by Rhett Akins include Blake Shelton's "Boys 'Round Here" and "Honeybee," Jason Aldean's "When She Says Baby" and "Just Gettin' Started," Jon Pardi's "Dirt on My Boots," Thomas Rhett's "It Goes Like This," "Get Me Some of That," "Star of the Show," "LIfe Changes," and "Look What God Gave Her," and Dustin Lynch's "Small Town Boy" and "Mind Reader."
As a performing artist, Rhett had hits in the early '90s that included "Don't Get Me Started" and "That Ain't My Truck."