Grammy award-winning nation songwriter Brett James, whose string of high hits consists of “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood and “When The Solar Goes Down” by Kenny Chesney, died in a airplane crash in North Carolina, authorities stated Friday. He was 57.
The small airplane with three folks aboard crashed Thursday afternoon “under unknown circumstances” within the woods in Franklin, the Federal Aviation Administration stated in a preliminary report. There have been no survivors, the North Carolina State Freeway Patrol stated in an announcement.
James was on a Cirrus SR22T, which was registered to him below his authorized identify of Brett James Cornelius, in accordance with data supplied by the FAA. It was not recognized if he was the pilot. The patrol confirmed his demise. The FAA and Nationwide Transportation Security Board stated they are going to examine the crash.
The opposite two folks on the airplane had been Melody Carole and Meryl Maxwell Wilson, the patrol confirmed.
The airplane had taken off from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville.
James was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Corridor of Fame in 2020. The group posted an internet assertion of mourning..
A local of Oklahoma Metropolis, James left medical faculty to pursue a musical profession in Nashville, in accordance his biography on the Corridor of Fame’s web site.
His first No. 1 hit was “Who I Am” in 2001, by Jessica Andrews. “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” which he co-wrote for Underwood, earned the 2006 Grammy for Greatest Nation Music, amongst different honors.
James had greater than 500 of his songs recorded, for albums with mixed gross sales of greater than 110 million copies, in accordance with his Grand Ole Opry biography on-line.
Different artists who sang his songs embrace Religion Hill, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan, Keith City, Nick Jonas and Meghan Trainor.
Extra hits embrace “Cowboy Casanova” by Underwood, “Out Last Night” by Chesney, and “Summer Nights” by Rascal Flatts.
“Heartbroken to hear of the loss of my friend Brett James tonight,” nation singer Jason Aldean posted on X. “I had nothing but love and respect for that guy and he helped change my life. Honored to have met him and worked with him.”
James recorded his personal album in 2020.
“At my stage in life, I’m not going to write about driving around in pickup trucks, chasing girls,” he was quoted as saying on the Opry web site. “It needed to feel more classic, lyrically. They all wound up being love songs, but hopefully love songs with a twist, that haven’t all been written before.”
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Related Press reporter Kristin M. Corridor in Nashville contributed to this story.
