From his early childhood, Walter MacDonald was a naturally talented dancer. Eddie Cantor, the famous actor, singer, and dancer, once said that Walter had the fastest feet in the world.
In the early 1900s, Walter was discovered by the renowned dancer, John McCurchy, who nicknamed him “Happy Mac” because he had happy feet.
But Happy Mac wasn’t really very happy. He was addicted to alcohol and was in bondage to his sinful lifestyle.
One night in the early 1930s, he found his way into a revival meeting at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago where he heard the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time. He was fascinated by the message so he returned every night for several consecutive meetings.
Pretty soon, some of the workers became aware of his continuing presence. The directors of the mission, then, were Walter Taylor and his wife, Ethel. They were affectionately known as Pa and Ma Taylor. Ethel was the pianist at the revival meetings and, from the bench, she began to take notice of this strange guy named Mac. Every evening, when she saw him, she prayed that the Lord would help them reach Mac with the message of the gospel and that he might be saved.
Finally, one evening Walter MacDonald approached them for their counsel. Ma Taylor listened quietly as he struggled to confess his miserable past life. Then, in his own words, Mac cried out to God, “You don’t understand, You don’t know how bad I am, Lord. Really, I’m the worst man in the world. You can’t save me; I’m too bad.”
When Ma Taylor heard his prayer, she recalled a message she had heard a few weeks before. An evangelist who had been a rebellious sinner in his youth and felt he was unworthy of God’s love, had come to understand that Jesus Christ, by his death, paid the penalty for all his sin. In his testimony, he said, “Calvary covers all of it.” Ethel Taylor explained the meaning of those words to Walter MacDonald that night.
Walter asked her to tell him the story again. As she spoke, suddenly the light of the gospel penetrated Walter's heart and he exclaimed. “Oh! Mrs. Taylor, I’m so glad you told me that. It’s true; Calvary does cover it all! My whole past of sin and shame.”
Walter MacDonald trusted the Savior that night in 1934 and he lived to become an outstanding servant of Christ.
That single event in Walter's life inspired the hymn. A few days later, as she was remembering Mac’s conversion, Ethel Taylor went into the mission chapel, sat down at the piano, and composed the words and music for this gospel song; CALVARY COVERS IT ALL.
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