Claude A. Jeter (October 26, 1914 – January 6, 2009) was an American

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

singer. Originally a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Jeter formed the group that would eventually become one of the most popular gospel quartets of the post-war era – the

Swan Silvertones The Swan Silvertones are an American gospel music group that first achieved popularity in the 1940s and 1950s under the leadership of Claude Jeter. Jeter formed the group in 1938 as the "Four Harmony Kings" while he was working as a coal miner in ...

. He was also, at one time, a member of the

Dixie Hummingbirds Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

Early life

Jeter was born in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

on October 26, 1914. Jeter's father died when he was eight-years-old and he moved to

with his family, where he later found work in the coal mines in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

as a teenager.Sisario, Ben. "Claude Jeter, Gospel Singer With Wide Influence, Dies at 94", ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 10, 2009. p. A28.

Career

Swan Silvertones

He formed the Four Harmony Kings in 1938 with his brother and two fellow coal miners, which was later renamed as the Silvertone Singers. After the group was hired by a radio program based in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

that was sponsored by the local Swan Bakery, they were renamed as the Swan Silvertones. Jeter was best known for his

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

with the Swan Silvertones in which his graceful high melodies served in contrast to the rougher voices of the group's other members. The group recorded for several different labels, but never achieved financial success, despite its widespread influence. During the 1950s the group was popular and many of the elements of the group's style resembled the then-prevalent

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

vocal group style. Jeter received many offers to perform R&B or

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

, but rejected them all, citing a commitment he had made to his mother that he would always sing for the Lord.

Influence on other singers

Elements of his performances in songs such as "Careless Soul" and "Saviour Pass Me Not" were picked up by later singers such as

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

and

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptatio ...

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

. "I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust in my name", a line from his 1959 rendition of the Negro spiritual "

Mary Don't You Weep "Mary Don't You Weep" (alternately titled "O Mary Don't You Weep", "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't You Mourn", or variations thereof) is a Spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War – thus it is what scholars call a "slave son ...

" served as

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

's inspiration to write his 1970 song " Bridge over Troubled Water". Jeter said that the line had been based on a paraphrase of a Biblical verse. Paul Simon hired Jeter to sing on the 1973

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

There Goes Rhymin' Simon ''There Goes Rhymin' Simon'' is the third solo studio album by American musician Paul Simon released on May 5, 1973. It contains songs spanning several styles and genres, such as gospel ("Loves Me Like a Rock") and Dixieland ("Take Me to the Mar ...

'' - specifically the falsetto background vocal on "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" - and gave Jeter a check for $1,000 for inspiring Simon to write "Bridge over Troubled Water".

Solo album

In 1971,

Anthony Heilbut Anthony Heilbut (born November 22, 1940) is an American writer, and record producer of gospel music. He is noted for his biography of Thomas Mann, and has also won a Grammy Award. Life Anthony Heilbut, the son of German Jewish refugees Bertha and ...

wrote the book ''The Gospel Sound: Good News and Hard Times'', and later produced ''Yesterday and Today'', a 1991 album that was Jeter's only solo project.

Later life

Jeter lived in New York's Harlem neighborhood at 202 W. 118th St., just to the east of the Cecil Hotel. When a fire under his apartment made it unsafe to live there he was moved to Northern Manhattan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on E. 125th Street. Despite his lack of mobility, he attended local gospel programs at Lagree Baptist Church and First Corinthian Baptist Church with the assistance of a friend, musician Spencer Jarrett. The two traveled to Birmingham, Alabama in 2005 where Reverend Jeter received a lifetime achievement award from Rev. George W. Stewart and the American Gospel Quartet Convention. During his final years in Harlem Rev. Jeter would continue to be visited by longtime friends including Anthony Heilbut, the promoter and radio personality Virginia Cotton, Deacon John Faison of the Fantastic Soulernaires, Ira Tucker and the Dixie Hummingbirds, Paul Simon, and others.

Death and legacy

Jeter died at age 94 on January 6, 2009 at the Daughters of Jacob Nursing Home in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

.Hinckley, David
"Legendary singer Claude Jeter dies"
''

Daily News (New York) The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'', January 8, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2021. In May 2009, Jerry Lawson (former lead singer of

The Persuasions The Persuasions are an American a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1960s. The Persuasions were formed in Brooklyn in 1962, singing a cappella under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their ...

) and singer/songwriter James Power released a tribute to Jeter entitled "The Man in Room 1009". The song pays homage to Jeter's musical contribution and legacy using his final home (Room 1009 at the Daughters of Jacob Nursing Home in the Bronx) as the song's setting.

Discography

Albums *What Is This (1970) *Singing In My Soul (1972) *The Little Wooden Church On The Hill (1975) *Mary Don't You Weep (1976) *The Greatest Hits of Reverend Claude Jeter (1977) *Our Greatest Hits (1977) with Evangelist Shirley Caesar *Swan Silvertones Featuring Reverend Claude Jeter - Our Greatest Hits (1977) *Yesterday And Today (1988) *I Thank You Lord (unknown) *Inspirations! (unknown) with Shirley Caesar Singles *Mary Don't You Weep (unknown) with Shirley Caesar and The Caesar Singers *In Memory Of Dr. Martin Luther King / When I've Gone The Last Mile Of The Way (unknown) *Only Believe / Christmas In Heaven (unknown)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeter, Claude 1914 births 2009 deaths American gospel singers Musicians from Montgomery, Alabama People from the Bronx Singers from Kentucky 20th-century African-American male singers