The musician, famed for penning Elvis classics In the Ghetto and A Little Less Conversation, was presented with the BMI Icon prize for his five decade-long career at a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee and during the event, he praised the late King for helping him evolve from just a songwriter to an artist.

"I watched him when he first came to Lubbock, Texas," he recalled, "and he stood on the back of a flatbed truck and the girls were just screaming and yelling and climbing up and trying to get to him. And I said, 'Man, I want to do that.'"

Davis was then treated to sets by Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, and Bryan, who pulled off his best Elvis impression for a rendition of A Little Less Conversation.

Meanwhile, other winners at the BMI Country Awards included Brett Eldredge, who claimed Song of the Year for Beat of the Music, and Rodney Clawson, who was named Songwriter of the Year for his work on hits like Kenny Chesney's American Kids and Lady Antebellum's Bartender.