The Swan Silvertones
The Swan Silvertones
By Michael Erlewine
(Michael@erlewine.net
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
 The Swan Silvertones
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
 The Swan Silvertones

includes “End of My Journey,” “Jesus is

Alright with Me,” and their version of
“Rock My Soul”. ~Michael Erlewine