The Rev. Claude Jeter, the founder of the gospel group the Swan Silvertones whose delicate yet potent falsetto had a wide influence on both pop and religious singers in the 1950s and 60s, died on Tuesday in the Bronx. He was 94.
A versatile stylist, Mr. Jeter once sang bass with the Dixie Hummingbirds. But he is best known for his falsetto in the Swan Silvertones, which he formed in 1938. Often acting as a foil for the groups rougher, shouting voices which included those of Solomon Womack and Louis Johnson he sang graceful and penetrating high melodies.
His fillips in songs like Careless Soul and Saviour Pass Me Not have been echoed by many singers, most notably Al Green and Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations. A line he sang in the Swan Silvertones 1962 song Mary Dont You Weep Ill be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name inspired Paul Simon to write Bridge Over Troubled Water.
