[78-L] What is the Meaning of This - The Sportsmen Quartet

[David Lewis]

This record is a common, and was a hit in the spring of 1948:

The Sportsmen [Quartet], accompanied by The Sportsmen
Capitol 15077
3217-5D-4 Toolie Oolie Doolie [The Yodel Polka]
3272-2D-4 You Can't Be True Dear

This was a two-sided hit in the spring of 1948, during the recording ban. "You Can't Be True" caught first in May, with "Toolie Oolie Doolie" following in June.
The "You Can't Be True, Dear" side reads:

Recorded by special permission of the U. S. Attorney General license No. E1277

My question: Is this designation related to the recording ban? And if so, why isn't it printed on both sides of the record?
There are no AFM recognized instruments on the recording. 

The recording itself is fascinating; Both sides are obvious overdubs; the Sportsmen sing over a layer, created by themselves, from ocarinas, harmonicas 
and a jug for the bass, so well played you might think it an actual bass, but it's a jug. Reverb is used here and there on both tracks for effect. 

There's a wobbly, heavily reverberated sound in the "Toolie Oolie Doolie" side in the accompaniment that I can't recognize; perhaps just their 
voices in a kind of shimmering chord. 

The Sportsmen Quartet were technically a "barbershop quartet,"  but they specialized in the close harmony singing common to the 1940s. They were
permanent fixtures, at various times, on the Jack Benny, Judy Canova and other radio programs. They tended to work wherever Mel Blanc was working,
and contributed many of the close harmony sections to the Termite Terrace product (i.e. "Oh, We are the Chorus" from "What's Up Doc.")

They made commercial records primarily for Capitol (1947-50, 1953), some with Mel Blanc, and two albums for Tops (1958-59) which later surfaced again 
on PRI. There is a ca. 1964 single on Key which might be them or another group by that name, I'm not sure. I have heard that they recorded commercially
before Capitol, but have no information. Does anyone know of additional contracts that they held with other companies?   

Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis at hotmail.com