The Swan Silvertones

The Swan Silvertones are a premiere gospel group and one of the great music experiences awaiting anyone who has never heard them. If you are not a fan of gospel music or “religious” music of any kind, don’t let that fact deter you from having this unique listening experience. This is pure music at the highest level.

The a cappella quartet Four Harmony Kings was created by tenor Claude Jeter in 1938 in Coalwood, West Virginia, but the name was changed to the Swan Silvertones when they began a 15-minute radio show sponsored by the Swan Bakery Company on the Knoxville station WBIR in 1942. They developed a national reputation during their contract with King Records from 1946 to 1951, recording some 21 recordings (mostly in the jubilee gospel style) including “I Cried Holy” and “Go Ahead”. They joined Specialty Records from 1951 to 1953, but issued only four singles (in a more contemporary, harder style) before they were dropped by that label.

The early group had lead singers Jeters and Solomon Womack, tenors Robert Crenshaw and John Manson, baritone John H. Myles, and bass Henry K. Bossard.

They really came into their own when they signed and recorded with VeeJay and recorded with that label from 1956 through 1964. The smoother Vee-Jay sound is probably due to arranger Paul Owens, who joined the group in 1952. Influenced by jazz-vocal groups like the Four Freshmen and the Hi-Los, Owens smoothed out the sound and made it more contemporary, even progressive. Starting in 1956, the group began adding instruments to what had been up until them a purely vocal or a capella sound. The excellent guitarist Linwood Hargrove added greatly to the emerging Vee-Jay sound and the additions (on rcordings) of jazz sidemen Bob Cranshaw on bass and Walter Perkins -- founding members of MJT (3) -- on drums completed the sound.

Perhaps their greatest hit was “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep,” released in 1959 -- an incredible listening experience. It is in this song that Claude Jeter intones the phrase “I’ll be a bridge over deep water, if you trust in my name” that inspired Paul Simon to compose “Bridge Over Troubled Water” some years later. The Swan Silvertones had a great effect on many rock (Al Kooper) and country (Gary Stewart) artists.

During their nine years at Vee Jay, the main members of the group were tenor (and falsetto) Claude Jeeter, baritone John H. Myles, tenor, Paul Owens, and Bass William Conner. Other singers who were in the group during that time were tenors Dewey Young, Robert Crutcher, and Louis Johnson. 

When Vee Jay closed in 1965, the group moved to Hob records, where they did one last album before Claude Jeter left to record on his own and focus on his ministry. 

MusicScope: 

The Swan Silvertones have had an enormous effect on many musicians. It is hard to listen to their best work with its harmonic complexity and spiritual simplicity or punch and not be moved by the sheer power of the music. I am not talking religious message here; the music itself is awesome. I envy those of you who have never heard the group that first listen. If you like Sam Cooke, then you owe it to yourself to hear where it all came from, the brilliant tenor and falsetto voice of Claude Jeter. 

Some of the most outstanding songs to look for are “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep,” “My Rock,” “Great Day in December,” “Seek, Seek,” and the incredible a capella version of “The Lord’s Prayer.” 

Any Swan Silvertones you can find on VeeJay represents their best, followed by what had been released on Specialty. The VeeJay twofer “Swan Silvertones” is the one to get. It contains the two original albums “Swan Silvertones” (perhaps their best) and “Singin’ in My Soul”. 

Albums:

(5 stars) Swan Silvertones -- Let’s Go to Church Together/ VeeJay

[recorded in 1964]

This is quintiessential Swan Silvertones at their peak. Songs like “Love Lifted Me,” and “I’ll Be satisfied’ -- 12 songs from a single session in 1964 have captured some of the finest work of this legendary group. This makes for deep satisfying listening. ~Michael Erlewine

(3 stars) Swan Silvertones -- Pray For Me/ VeeJay

[recorded in 1956-1961, album release 1974]

This is early Swan Silvertones on VeeJay, recorded in sessions in 1956, 1957, and 1961 but not compiled and released as an album until 1974. It is available on the VeeJay two-fer “The Swan Silvertones” along with another great album “Let’s Go to Church Together”. ~Michael Erlewine

(5 stars, pick) Swan Silvertones/Swan Silvertones & Singing’ in my Soul/VeeJay

Here is one CD with two classic VeeJay albums (24 tracks) of vintage Swan Silvertones. These tracks (both albums) came from six sessions for Vee-Jay when the group was at its creative peak.

The album “Swan Silvertones” is perhaps the single best album they ever put out, containing 12 tunes including their hit “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep,” “How I Got Over,” “My Rock,” “The Lord’s Prayer,” “When Jesus Comes,” and “Great Day in December” -- all incredible music experiences.

The music continues with the album “Singin’ in My Soul”, 12 more prime Vee-Jay cuts including “End of My Journey,” “Jesus is Alright with Me,” and their version of “Rock My Soul”. ~Michael Erlewine

(5 stars, Pick) Swan Silvertones/Swan Silvertones

Here is perhaps the best of the VeeJay albums (12 tracks) of vintage Swan Silvertones. These tracks came from six sessions for Vee-Jay when the group was at its creative peak -- perhaps the single best album they ever put out. It contains their hit “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep,” “How I Got Over,” “My Rock,” “The Lord’s Prayer,” “When Jesus Comes,” and “Great Day in December” -- all incredible music experiences. ~Michael Erlewine

(4 stars) Swan Silvertones/Singing’ in my Soul/VeeJay

Here is one of the classic VeeJay albums (12 tracks) of vintage Swan Silvertones. These tracks came from six sessions for Vee-Jay when the group was at its creative peak. The album includes “End of My Journey,” “Jesus is Alright with Me,” and their version of “Rock My Soul”. ~Michael Erlewine