In the 1930s, gospel singer Claude Jeter was a Kentucky coal miner when he formed the group that would become the Swan Silvertone Singers, according to an article in the New York Daily News. He stayed with the group for 30 years.
"The many singers influenced by his distinct falsetto style included Al Green and Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, as well as other gospel singers," the article states.
Jeter died Tuesday in New York at 94. Read the New York Daily News column by David Hinckley for more details about his life.