Kenny Chesney was part of the star-studded line-up playing George Strait’s final tour date this past June, and this Friday, CMT will premiere an exclusive two-hour TV special, George Strait: The Cowboy Rides Away, allowing the more than 100,000 fans who saw it live — and everyone who didn’t — a chance to revisit an amazing night. Just before the show in June, Kenny talked about what George Strait has meant to him. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• Don’t miss George Strait: The Cowboy Rides Away, this Friday, August 29th, at 7pm, ET, on CMT.
• Kenny is currently riding high on the airwaves with his smash, “American Kids,” the first single from his September 23rd album release, The Big Revival, available for pre-order now, on iTunes.

  Kenny Chesney talks about George Strait. (1:01)
“George is a hero; he’s a friend. He’s someone that has inspired me. He’s someone that has taught me a lot, indirectly, by just watching him, his song sense, his stage charisma — you name it. George has, in so many ways, influenced me as an artist, as a person. And like I said, just pickin’ songs. When I was new in this business, my God, I was like everybody else. We wanted to be as successful as George was, you know, and I learned pretty quickly by studying him that it all starts with the songs. And those songs that George cut and performed all these years will live forever. I mean, they just will. They’re songs that never go out of style because they touch people’s lives. And to be a part of, you know, his career, and doing two years with him on the road — and the first time I did stadium shows was with George, you know, and I was the first guy on…actually the second. And that’s where I learned how to do that. So, to be a part of his career has been one of the biggest highlights of my career and my life.”