The Swan Silvertones occupy the very highest pantheon of gospel music’s stars. Beginning in 1938, the Silvertones were trail-blazers and crowd-pleasers. Led by the immortal Claude Jeter Jr., their unique blend of gospel jubilee harmonies coupled with Jeter’s expressive tenor influenced generations of singers in rock’n’roll and gospel. In fact, Paul Simon credits them as the inspiration for his “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
Over the decades, Silvertones had dozens of gospel hits, including “Jesus is All Right,” “Sinking Sand,” “The Lord’s Prayer” and their biggest – a swinging arrangement of the old spiritual, “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep.” And yes, that’s Jeter’s soaring falsetto you hear throughout the song.
You can hear the complete song and all of the songs from Shout! on our webpage, KWBU dot ORG ... just scroll down to the Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments link.
MUSIC: “Oh, Mary Don’t You Weep,” LP 16 Golden Gospel Greats, Side 2, Track 6.
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU, the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project at Baylor University Libraries and is funded by generous support from the Prichard Foundation.