Originally a coal miner from Kentucky, Jeter formed the group that would eventually become one of the most popular gospel quartets of the post-war era – the Swan Silvertones.
Jeter's father died when he was eight-years-old and he moved to Kentucky with his family, where he later found work in the coal mines in West Virginia as a teenager.
[2] Elements of his performances in songs such as "Careless Soul" and "Saviour Pass Me Not" were picked up by later singers such as Al Green and Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations.
[2] In 1971, Anthony Heilbut wrote the book The Gospel Sound: Good News and Hard Times, and later produced Yesterday and Today, a 1991 album that was Jeter's only solo project.
Jeter would continue to be visited by longtime friends including Anthony Heilbut, the promoter and radio personality Virginia Cotton, Deacon John Faison of the Fantastic Soulernaires, Ira Tucker and the Dixie Hummingbirds, Paul Simon, and others.