The gospel group Swan Silvertones was founded by Claude Jeter (1914-2009) in the coal mines of West Virginia in 1938. Born in Alabama in 1914, Jeter moved with his family to eastern Kentucky at age eight following his father’s death. Encouraged by his mother, he began singing gospel music at age 10. He later drew inspiration from the Norfolk Jubilees, the Golden Gate Quartet, and Billy Williams of the Charioteers.

By his early 20s, Jeter was working underground as a coal miner near Coalwood (McDowell County), where his smooth falsetto echoed through the mines. Music became his calling, and he soon formed a quartet with his brother Melvyn and two fellow miners. In 1938, this group evolved into the Four Harmony Kings, featuring Jeter with John Myles, Leroy Watkins, and Eddie Boroughs. Performing on weekends, they quickly built a strong reputation.

In the early 1940s, the singers earned enough from their performances to leave mining behind. Jeter and Myles relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee, where they were joined by Willie Johnson and Charles Kelly. To avoid confusion with another group by a similar name, the Four Harmony Kings began performing as the Silvertones (also billed as the Silvertone Singers). Popular at fraternal, business, and church gatherings, the group sometimes earned as much as $500 per show.

Their big break came on Knoxville’s WDIB radio. After only three 15-minute broadcasts, the Swan Bakery offered a sponsorship that guaranteed the group airtime five days a week—provided they rename themselves the Swan Silvertones. To accommodate their busy touring schedule, they often pre-recorded programs for the station.

In 1946, the Swan Silvertones signed with King Records in Cincinnati, releasing 45 singles over the next five years. They later recorded with Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records, where they produced their most celebrated hit, “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep.” Jeter’s soulful falsetto in the song would later inspire Paul Simon’s writing on “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Simon then hired Jeter to sing on his studio album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. Other legendary artists, including John Fogerty (partially inspiring “Proud Mary”), Al Green, and Sam Cooke, also cited Jeter and the Swan Silvertones as major influences.

As the ensemble grew—from a quartet to a quintet and eventually a sextet—its membership changed frequently, but Jeter remained a constant presence until 1966, when he left to begin a ministry. Although their peak years were in the 1950s and ’60s, the Swan Silvertones continued performing into the 1980s.

Their legacy was cemented with inductions into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame (2002), the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2003), and the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame (2013).