Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
I've been searching through old CD's in my house, looking for a CD of Sonny Reighard, so I can see if it's possible to use part of his vocal in the collaboration I'm working on with Darrell Savage. So far, I have found only the case, not the CD. However, in the process of searching, I have found several interesting things, including this recording of me and Pap singing "At the Cross."
In late 2015, I was still working on the Shepherd of My Soul CD. It went through several iterations. Some versions included more hymns than the finished CD would up featuring. At some point, I decided to cut some of those hymns to make room for more original songs from Pap. "At the Cross" was one of the songs that I cut. I had forgotten that we recorded it.
I had never heard the hymn until Pap taught it to me around that time. I loved the poetic lyrics immediately. They are majestic in their description of the mystery of all mysteries: why does God love us so much as to sacrifice His only begotten, precious, perfect Son? It defies our understanding.
You may notice that some of the words we sang differ from what appears in the sheet music. We didn't sing the song from the hymn book. We relied on Pap's memory. Some differences might reflect minor misremembrances on his part, such as saying "grieve" in the first line, rather than "bleed." Other changes, like "through" instead of "by" in the conclusion of the chorus, were probably intentional on Pap's part, so as to better match the Bible. Isaac Watts' created the lyrics in 1707. Ralph E. Hudson created the melody in 1885.
This recording features the Dove and the Taylor 710, the same guitars in the photo of me and Pap. The Dove kicks the song off and concludes it. The Taylor shares a break in the middle with a Honor Harmonica. I played all the instruments in the recording. Pap could have played one of the rhythm guitars, but because the recording studio was in my house, it was easier for me to do it and then invite him down to add his harmony vocal when everything else was ready.
The recording isn't bad, except for a couple of things. The beginning of the guitar break on the Taylor got accidentally cut off in the mixing process when I accidentally armed the track that the Taylor was on. That's what makes it sound like the guitar came in a little late. It's not very noticeable.
The other problem is that most of my singing is slightly sharp (i.e. off key). It gets a little better as the song progresses. That's a sign that we probably should have sung the song higher, in the key of G, rather than E or F. Moving the song to G would also have allowed Pap to sing out more on his tenor, rather than being stifled by the lower key.
Some Acorns seem to get a little annoyed when I criticize some aspect of my musical performance, and they ask me not to "beat myself up," etc. I promise that I'm not beating myself up about the mistakes. I mostly point those types of things out to show that I'm aware they're present. It's somewhat comparable to handing a draft of a paper to someone to read and letting them know that you're aware that it contains errors in spelling and grammar. If you (as the performer) can recognize the mistakes, then you can correct them and/or do better next time.
Pap and I made this recording one piece at a time, using headphones; therefore, if I can find the 8-track master, I could re-sing my part and improve it. If I recall correctly, when we recorded it, Pap led the first and second verses by himself, and I sang the last verse (which is my favorite). I seem to remember that it just didn't work as well for Pap to lead those verses. If I'm recalling correctly, I'm almost positive the reason was that the key needed to be higher.
Though I wish I had done a better job organizing what I have, I'm very thankful to have so many recordings of my family, especially the gospel music. It's also a great blessing to be able to share them with you. As several Acorns have pointed out, putting them online may provide the opportunity for future generations of my family to hear them. When I'm no longer around, it's doubtful that anyone could effectively go through the mountains of recordings that I have and pick out the good stuff to hear and preserve. A lot of the technology is becoming obsolete. For example, few people have DVD players/CD players these days. So, it's good that I can save them on some server in cyber land.
I hope you enjoyed our recording of this beautiful old hymn. Thanks for watching! :-)
I've been searching through old CD's in my house, looking for a CD of Sonny Reighard, so I can see if it's possible to use part of his vocal in the collaboration I'm working on with Darrell Savage. So far, I have found only the case, not the CD. However, in the process of searching, I have found several interesting things, including this recording of me and Pap singing "At the Cross."
In late 2015, I was still working on the Shepherd of My Soul CD. It went through several iterations. Some versions included more hymns than the finished CD would up featuring. At some point, I decided to cut some of those hymns to make room for more original songs from Pap. "At the Cross" was one of the songs that I cut. I had forgotten that we recorded it.
I had never heard the hymn until Pap taught it to me around that time. I loved the poetic lyrics immediately. They are majestic in their description of the mystery of all mysteries: why does God love us so much as to sacrifice His only begotten, precious, perfect Son? It defies our understanding.
You may notice that some of the words we sang differ from what appears in the sheet music. We didn't sing the song from the hymn book. We relied on Pap's memory. Some differences might reflect minor misremembrances on his part, such as saying "grieve" in the first line, rather than "bleed." Other changes, like "through" instead of "by" in the conclusion of the chorus, were probably intentional on Pap's part, so as to better match the Bible. Isaac Watts' created the lyrics in 1707. Ralph E. Hudson created the melody in 1885.
This recording features the Dove and the Taylor 710, the same guitars in the photo of me and Pap. The Dove kicks the song off and concludes it. The Taylor shares a break in the middle with a Honor Harmonica. I played all the instruments in the recording. Pap could have played one of the rhythm guitars, but because the recording studio was in my house, it was easier for me to do it and then invite him down to add his harmony vocal when everything else was ready.
The recording isn't bad, except for a couple of things. The beginning of the guitar break on the Taylor got accidentally cut off in the mixing process when I accidentally armed the track that the Taylor was on. That's what makes it sound like the guitar came in a little late. It's not very noticeable.
The other problem is that most of my singing is slightly sharp (i.e. off key). It gets a little better as the song progresses. That's a sign that we probably should have sung the song higher, in the key of G, rather than E or F. Moving the song to G would also have allowed Pap to sing out more on his tenor, rather than being stifled by the lower key.
Some Acorns seem to get a little annoyed when I criticize some aspect of my musical performance, and they ask me not to "beat myself up," etc. I promise that I'm not beating myself up about the mistakes. I mostly point those types of things out to show that I'm aware they're present. It's somewhat comparable to handing a draft of a paper to someone to read and letting them know that you're aware that it contains errors in spelling and grammar. If you (as the performer) can recognize the mistakes, then you can correct them and/or do better next time.
Pap and I made this recording one piece at a time, using headphones; therefore, if I can find the 8-track master, I could re-sing my part and improve it. If I recall correctly, when we recorded it, Pap led the first and second verses by himself, and I sang the last verse (which is my favorite). I seem to remember that it just didn't work as well for Pap to lead those verses. If I'm recalling correctly, I'm almost positive the reason was that the key needed to be higher.
Though I wish I had done a better job organizing what I have, I'm very thankful to have so many recordings of my family, especially the gospel music. It's also a great blessing to be able to share them with you. As several Acorns have pointed out, putting them online may provide the opportunity for future generations of my family to hear them. When I'm no longer around, it's doubtful that anyone could effectively go through the mountains of recordings that I have and pick out the good stuff to hear and preserve. A lot of the technology is becoming obsolete. For example, few people have DVD players/CD players these days. So, it's good that I can save them on some server in cyber land.
I hope you enjoyed our recording of this beautiful old hymn. Thanks for watching! :-)
