Country singer and songwriter Brett James died in a small plane crash in North Carolina
He was 57
He won a Grammy Award for his work on Carrie Underwood’s Jesus, Take The Wheel
Brett James, the renowned Grammy-winning songwriter, tragically died in a plane crash on Thursday (September 18), along with two others, as per reports. James was 57 at the time of his death. He was a country songwriter for Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, and Dierks Bentley, among others.
Brett James death
Brett James, whose full name is Brett James Cornelius, was onboard his Cirrus SR22T when it went down west of Iotla Valley Elementary School at around 3 pm EST in Franklin, North Carolina.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reports, the aircraft was registered to Brett Cornelius of Brentwood, Tennessee.
"A Cirrus SR22T crashed in a field in Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 18. Three people were on board," the FAA said in a statement, and also added that there will be an investigation into the incident with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Who was Brett James?
Born on June 5, 1968, in Columbia, Missouri, James wanted to study medicine, but left medical school to pursue his music career. He signed with Arista Nashville’s imprint Career Records as a solo artist and released his solo album in 1995.
He penned songs for Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood and Billy Ray Cyrus and in 2001, he got Who I Am by Jessica Andrews.
In 2005, Underwood's single Jesus, Take The Wheel hit No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. It bagged two Grammy nominations, with James winning the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 2006. The song also won the ACM single of the year, the ASCAP country song of the year and NSAI Song of the Year.
Some of his songs for which he penned lyrics include Cowboy Casanova by Carrie Underwood, It’s America by Rodney Atkins, When The Sun Goes Down by Kenny Chesney & Uncle Kracker, The Man I Want To Be by Chris Young, Bottoms Up by Brantley Gilbert, Out Last Night by Kenny Chesney, and Summer Nights by Rascal Flatts, among others. He also delivered a Latin hit with The One You Love (Todo Mi Amor) by Paulina Rubio.
James's other milestone was when he became a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame of 2020. The same year, he released a self-written album, I Am Now.
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame paid tribute to the songwriter. Their social media post read: "We mourn the untimely loss of Hall of Fame member Brett James (Jesus Take The Wheel / When The Sun Goes Down), a 2020 inductee who was killed in a small-engine airplane crash on Sept. 18."
