It's been said about my family (a very large family...I have 62 first cousins), that when ever you walk into a Brown/Jefferson/Lucas house, you hear music. Either someone is singing, or playing music. I have a lot of good and not so good memories about times shared with my family, and many times those memories coincide with a specific album, rather than just a song. And more often than not, the album would be a gospel album. For instance:

When I was about 5 years old, my Aunt Melva and Uncle Mark would come over every now and then, and the family (my mom and dad, brother and sister) would sit down, and play Super Mario Bros. 3. These little get togethers continued 'til I was about 10. Every time we sat down to play this game, we would listen to "The Call" by Anointed. Now whenever I hear this album, I am reminded of those times.

We used to go camping up near Owen Sound, Ontario. We had a cabin that we shared with my Aunt Melva. I guess I was about 7 years old. Right around the same time, CeCe Winans released her album "Alone In His Presence". We listened to it nonstop for about two weeks. As a matter of fact, as much as I like the Commodores, the title song from "Alone In His Presence" is my all-time favourite song. It just hits me in a way that I can't explain...but it always puts me in a happy, nostalgic mood. It brings me peace, in a way.

My Uncle Tony used to live out in the country, and whenever we drove out there (and actually when we got there, it was playing too), we would listen to Kirk Franklin's "God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation". It was cool because one of my uncle's sons is deaf (my cousin Mike), and his mom could dothe sign language for the song "Stomp", which was on that album...it was pretty neat.

Yolanda Adam's "Through the Storm" reminds me of my Grandma Beatrice, who died when I was four. A lot of the songs on the album were played at her funeral.

We used to take long drives listening to The Winans' "Tomorrow" before gas prices went crazy.

We listen to BeBe and CeCe Winans "First Christmas" every year on Christmas morning.

Finally, my favourite gospel album is "Different Lifestyles" by BeBe and CeCe Winans...I can't explain every reason why this brings up so many memories, so I'll just say that this album has brought me through a huge chunk of my childhood, teens, and even now, as I venture into adulthood.

So, what albums or songs, from any genre, fill you with memories every time you hear them?