Award-Winning Songwriter Dies In Plane Crash

Brett James, a Grammy-winning songwriter who supported some of pop music’s biggest stars, including Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, died along with two others when a small plane crashed on Thursday.

The single-engine Cirrus SR22T went down over a school near Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m., according to local station WLOS. Authorities pronounced James, 57, and his two passengers dead at the scene.

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame confirmed his death later that day. James was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

Investigators are now working to uncover what caused the plane to go down after taking off around 12:41 p.m. from Nashville.

James is best known for Billboard-topping hits, including Underwood’s “Jesus, Take The Wheel” and “The Truth” by Jason Aldean. He was twice named the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Country Songwriter of the Year.

He devoted his time to giving back to the composer community, serving on the boards of the Country Music Association and the Recording Academy. James also owned the publishing company Cornman Music.

Born on June 5, 1968, in Columbia, Missouri, James originally sought a career in medicine before being encouraged to cultivate his natural talent for a catchy tune. He was halfway through medical school when he decided to call it quits.

He signed with Career Records in 1995 as a solo artist but quickly became a hot commodity for other artists with bigger profiles. He snagged his first No. 1 hit with Jessica Andrews’s “Who I Am.”

Working with Underwood secured James’s legacy, however. During his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he called her performance “truly the greatest honor of my life.”

His lifetime catalogue has been sung by more than 800 artists, including the Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi, and Nick Jonas, according to Music Mayhem Magazine.

Other singers and songwriters posted heartfelt tributes to their fallen friend across social media on Friday, the Daily Mail reported.

“I am absolutely devastated at the loss of one of the best writers I’ve ever written with and recorded several of his songs, Brett James,” Sara Evans shared on Instagram.

“I’m praying for his loved ones,” she continued. “What a tragic and sad day. He will be so missed.”

Fellow songwriter Jessi Alexander recalled the “many fun nights on stage we shared and memories we made traveling around making music together.”

“He lived large and always made me feel special,” she said. “Music Row will never be the same.”

ASCAP further said it is mourning James’ loss, saying he “was a trusted collaborator to country’s greatest names and a true advocate for songwriters.”

“We miss him dearly.”