Photo by Bobbie Wallace on Unsplash

Thoughts on the “old rugged cross”

The first time I heard this hymn was as an organist-choirmaster in Pittsburgh in the summer of 1978. The choir was enthusiastic, at least, and one woman taught me the meaning of “whiskey tenor”. Not that she was drunk, but the color of her voice was, shall we say, distinctive, and it was how she described it. And yes, she sang the tenor line…