The Bigger Picture
Claude Jeter, Gospel and R&B Influence, 1914-2009
by Bob Moses
Another voice stilled. The Rev. Claude Jeter, the tenor who drove the sound of gospel icons The Swan Silvertones, died at his home in New York City at the age of 94.
Soaring, fiery, inspirational, it is impossible to imagine the direction soul and R&B took in the 50s and early 60s without the influential presence of his fluid tenor and beseeching falsetto. Jeter formed the Four Harmony Kings with his brother and two fellow miners in the coalfields of West Virginia in 1938. Through several name and line-up changes, Jeter and Swan Silvertones evolved from early shouts to echoes of early rock and doo wop, guiding a generation of future soul singers, as gospel did more generally.
Though they recorded for several labels that also counted country, rock and R&B artists in their catalogue (including Vee Jay, the first US home of the Beatles), and added instruments to the group’s sound, the Swan Silvertones remained lyrically and inspirationally gospel. The group’s biggest hit was “Mary Don’t You Weep” recorded in 1962 (it was also recorded by the Soul Stirrers, the future setting for Sam Cooke). The clip below presents another signature song, “Saviour Pass Me Not.” Be patient as it builds in intensity and hear the echoes of eternity.
The New York Times obituary by Ben Sisario.
A full history of the Swan Silvertones.
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