STL media guy Steve April writes ...

Next month, February 23, my wife and I (and hopefully a goodly portion of our family) will be in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame. There, my wife's Dad, since deceased, will be inducted into the broadcast section of the CMHOF. His name was Cy Blumenthal and Cy was the owner in the late 50's & early 60's of a chain of major market country stations.  That's his photo, at left.

Cy Blumenthal – Cy Blumenthal (1913-1983) was a pioneer in Country radio, becoming the first man to own a chain of Large Market radio stations in the Country format. His first acquisition was WARL in Arlington, Va., in 1951, followed by the purchase of WCMS (Norfolk, Va.) in 1954, WHMS (Memphis, Tn.) in 1955, KCKN (Kansas City, Kan.) in 1956 and WABB (Mobile, Ala.) in 1958. Blumenthal began his career in radio in Chester, Pa., in 1949, where he learned the radio business from his brother-in-law. Some of Blumenthal’s former staff includes Country Radio DJ Hall of Fame inductees Don Owens, Ted Cramer, Don Rhea and Joe Hoppel.

Steve April worked for Storz Radio in Kansas City and St. Louis, and for CBS here, as well, in sales.  In 1983 he opened a direct mail business and retired in 2000.