Zack Bennett Named Host Of Pure American Country

/by

Zack Bennett.

Zack Bennett has been tapped as permanent host of the nationally syndicated weekly radio program Pure American Country and its companion program, the daily 60-second feature Pure American Country Radio Minute.

Bennett has served as interim host since longtime host Bill Cody passed away in June. He has produced Pure American Country since 2024 and continued to write and produce the program while hosting it in the interim. He also guest-hosted the show during periods in 2025 and early 2026 when illness prevented Cody from recording.

“Bill and I worked together for nearly five years, and I had the privilege of learning from him every day,” Bennett says. “When he wasn’t able to be behind the Pure American Country microphone, he trusted me to sit in his chair and take care of the show and its listeners. That trust means even more to me now. Bill was one of the finest broadcasters I’ve ever known, and Pure American Country will always carry his influence. I’m not here to replace him or imitate him. My responsibility is to honor what he built, carry forward the warmth and love of country music he brought to the show, and take it into its next chapter in a way that would make him proud.”

Bennett began his radio career in 1999 at WANT-FM in Lebanon, Tennessee. During his 27-year career, the Nashville native spent six years working on Nashville’s 95.5 Nash Icon, and has spent nearly five years at 650 AM WSM, where he currently serves as Assistant Program Director and an on-air host. For the past four years, he has also been part of the team responsible for planning and producing every Grand Ole Opry show.

First launched in 2003 as the Country Music Greats Radio Show, Pure American Country is aired on 174 rural radio stations, broadcast over 194 transmission towers and frequencies, with coverage exceeding 40.3 million rural Americans, which is more than half of rural America.

“Whether I have an hour, two hours or 60 seconds, the goal is the same,” Bennett continues. “Give people something familiar, tell them something they may not have known, and remind them that everything in country music is connected.”

Lauryn Sink
Latest posts by Lauryn Sink (see all)