Garth Brooks and George Strait to perform in tribute to Dick Clark at ACM Awards

FILE - This April 6, 2009 file photo shows musician Garth Brooks, left, presenting George Strait with the Artist of the Decade award at the ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert in Las Vegas. Brooks and Strait will perform together for a tribute to the late Dick Clark at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 7, 2013 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) ORG XMIT: NYET264

Oklahoma native Garth Brooks and George Strait, the two most recent ACM Artist of the Decade Award winners, will perform together for the first time ever to pay tribute to Dick Clark at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

The ACM Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 7 on CBS. Oklahoma native Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan will co-host the ceremony.

The ACM Artist of the Decade Award will be renamed the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award in honor of the music icon and longtime producer of the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Clark, who died last year, began producing the ACM Awards in 1979 while being a longtime ambassador for a wide range of musical genres. His guidance contributed to the ACM Awards gaining prominence in the country music industry  over the years.

“It is truly appropriate that we pay tribute to my father, longtime ACM Awards executive producer Dick Clark. As one of the current executive producers and Dick’s son, I’m honored that George and Garth graciously accepted my personal request to pay tribute to a man we all loved,” R.A. Clark said in a news release.