In today’s country music, the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, pop and even hip-hop are just as obvious as traditional influences like old-time hillbilly music, blues, gospel and folk.

On the CMT All-Time Top 40: Artist’s Choice marathon, more than 100 of country music’s biggest names voted on the greatest musical acts of all time, regardless of the genre they represent.

Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Merle Haggard and many more explained how artists like Michael Jackson, George Strait, Alabama, Garth Brooks, U2 and Johnny Cash all contribute to today’s modern country sound.

Spotlighting each honoree’s influence, the list was compiled only by country stars themselves. It might be hard to believe, but they connect the dots between stars as different as Aerosmith and Charley Pride with quite a few more surprises along the way.

See if you can guess who Strait -- King George to his fans -- was talking about here:

“That old rock ‘n’ roll that he plays is just good music,” he said.

Or see if you recognize Bryan’s reverence in this candid quote:

“He has written the soundtrack to my life.”

Originally telecast one artist at a time each week on CMT Hot 20 Countdown, the CMT All-Time Top 40: Artist’s Choice marathon will reveal the entire list in five hours of compelling interviews and vintage video footage.

Tune in catch all the action -- and find out who was named at No. 1 -- on Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 27-28) at 9 a.m. ET/PT only on CMT.

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