Grammy Winners 2007

The out-of-this-world pop songwriting of Benji Hughes

The first time singer and songwriter Benji Hughes played the Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar in Carolina Beach back in 2009, as darkness descended a strange light popped out of the clouds high above the pier-top beach spot, hovering like a helicopter but without that craft's tell-tale racket.

Whether or not you believe in that kind of thing, it would be hard to fault an interplanetary visitor for being curious: Hughes, long of hair and bushy of beard, sunburned and shoeless, sporting swim trunks and an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, crooning crafty pop songs, otherwordly in their hip beauty, about love and other stuff.

Hughes, who will be in town for a two-night stand at downtown Wilmington's Calico Room July 8 and 9, claimed during a recent phone interview to have seen the U.F.O. as well. But he placed talk of what else that light might've been "off the record," a phrase he seems to delight in using when talking to reporters, especially when he has something interesting to relate.

Hughes, who's from Charlotte, received a fair amount of acclaim from his 2008 double album on New West Records titled "A Love Extreme." Reviews from The New York Times and NPR were just this side of rapturous. He got four stars in Rolling Stone and a rave from respected writer and critic Chuck Klosterman, who isn't exactly given to raves. A lengthy profile in culture magazine The Believer called Hughes "one of the best pop songwriters in America," his album "almost perfect" and more or less marveled at the unfairness of a universe in which an artist like Hughes is not monumentally famous.

"The fact that people enjoy it, that says it all," Hughes said. "As long as people are diggin' it, I'm diggin' it."

"A Love Extreme" has its share of unforgettable tracks. Just to name three, there's the lusty "Tight Tee Shirt," on which Hughes sings of a girl whose lips taste "just like really awesome candy"; the poetic, goosebump-inducing ballad "Waiting for an Invitation"; and a punchy jam called "The Mummy," with its catchy chorus ("When the Mummy gets drunk he unravels"). All are delivered in Hughes' deep, velvety voice, which is expertly sly and sentimental, playful and romantic.

Despite, the critical props, however, "A Love Extreme" and Hughes, who had a taste of the major-label high life when his old band, Muscadine, was singed to Sire Records in the middle 1990s, didn't exactly catch on nationwide. In a previous interview, Hughes blamed New West – which has still not released an album of Hughes' piano ballads produced by Grammy-Award-winner Bill Bottrell (Michael Jackson, Sheryl Crow) – for not promoting the album like he thinks the label should've.

53rd Annual Grammy Awards: Early Winners List Includes Jay-Z, Cee ...

Every year, The Recording Academy honors outstanding achievements of some of today's biggest acts in music via its Grammy Awards. In celebration of this year's ceremony and Black History Month, Blackvoices.com explores a range of black Grammy Award winners, from legendary one-time Grammy winners such as Smokey Robinson and Salt 'N' Pepa , to some of the iconic multiple Grammy winners like Quincy Jones and Aretha Franklin . To coincide with the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, here's a look 52 black Grammy winners through the years.

Grammy by the Numbers: 52 Grammy Award Winners

Stevie Wonder Factoid : Discovered by The Miracles' Ronnie White, this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was one of Motown Records most successful solo artists. The blind singer, songwriter and pianist won an Academy Award in 1984 for best song for 'I Just Called to Say I Love You' from the movie 'The Woman in Red.'

Grammy by the Numbers: 52 Grammy Award Winners

Lisa Fischer Factoid : Turner's best-selling biography 'I, Tina' was adapted into a successful motion picture, 'What's Love Got to Do With It,' which garnered Angela Bassett an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of the Nutbush, Tennessee-born singer (nee Anna Mae Bullock).

Grammy by the Numbers: 52 Grammy Award Winners

Darius Rucker (with Hootie and the Blowfish ) Factoid : Since forming Hootie & the Blowfish with his University of South Carolina bandmates, former lead singer and guitarist, Darius Rucker, 43, has established himself as a country music star. His recent, chart-topping success comes after a failed R&B venture with Hidden Beach Recordings, the home of fellow Grammy winner Jill Scott.

Grammy by the Numbers: 52 Grammy Award Winners

Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire) Factoid : Best known for founding one of the most successful bands in music, Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White goes by the nickname Reese. The Chicago native and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee has worked with Barbara Streisand, The Emotions and Neil Diamond and is credited with naming his famous band.

Grammy by the Numbers: 52 Grammy Award Winners

Factoid : This New York City-based funk metal band grew out of the Black Rock Coalition, a nonprofit founded by the group's lead guitarist, Vernon Reid, for black musicians interested in playing rock music. The group's 1990 sophomore album included notable appearances by Queen Latifah, Doug E. Fresh, Little Richard and Maceo Parker.

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Encyclopædia Britannica Almanac 2009

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