To Carrie Underwood, fellow singer-songwriter, Grammy winner and Oklahoman Brett James was “the epitome of ‘cool.'”
“I see him in my mind riding up to my cabins to write on his motorcycle…his hair somehow perfectly coiffed despite being under a helmet for however long. I always loved hearing him sing ‘Cowboy Casanova’ because a sassy girl anthem should’ve sounded ridiculous coming from a macho dude like him, but somehow, he even made that cool,” Underwood recalled in an Instagram post.
“Some things are just unfathomable. The loss of Brett James to his family, friends and our music community is too great to put into words.”
A Nashville-based singer-songwriter who grew up in Oklahoma and penned hits for Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean and many more, James died Thursday, Sept. 18 in a plane crash. He was 57.
“Brett’s passing is leaving a hole in all of us that I fear won’t ever go away. It will forever be a reminder that this life is but a moment…we have to make the most of each day we’re given here on earth. Each day is a gift,” Underwood wrote in her tribute on social media.
“I’m asking all of you to pray for his family, friends and all of us that were blessed enough to know Brett.”
USA TODAY reports that a Cirrus SR22T single-engine plane registered to James under his full name, Brett James Cornelius, crashed in a field in Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m. local time Sept. 18, according to preliminary information from the Federal Aviation Administration.
None of the three people on board the aircraft survived, according to the FAA’s report. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to the scene around 3 p.m., according to an emailed statement from the agency.
The agency identified the three people on board as James, his wife, Melody Carole and her daughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson. They were confirmed deceased at the scene.
Who was Brett James?
Born Brett James Cornelius on June 5, 1968, in Columbia, Missouri, the Grammy winner grew up in Oklahoma City and Cordell. A graduate of Del City’s Christian Heritage Academy, James was attending college at Baylor University when his parents gave him a $90 pawn shop guitar for a Christmas gift.
“As soon as I learned three chords, I just thought it’d be fun to write a song with ’em,” James told The Oklahoman in a 2009 interview. “I just kind of did it for fun, and I certainly never dreamed it would be a job.”
Instead, he planned to follow in the footsteps of his father, the late Oklahoma City family practitioner Dr. Sam Cornelius and attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma. He eventually dropped out and relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a music career, initially as a recording artist and ultimately achieving success as a songwriter.
In 2007, James won the Grammy Award for best country song for co-writing “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” which Underwood took to the top of the charts.
Co-written by James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson, the power ballad, which became one of Underwood’s signature smashes, also was nominated for the 2007 Grammy for song of the year.
“We wrote it before Carrie was even on ‘American Idol,’” James recalled to The Oklahoman. “That’s just one of those magic things where the song kind of finds its way to just the right artist at just the right time.”
Carrie Underwood remembers Brett James as ‘a good guy’
James also co-wrote Underwood’s hits “Cowboy Casanova,” “Something in the Water” and “Somethin’ Bad,” a duet with Miranda Lambert.
“He was a good guy. I remember writing with him on a song that he basically wrote 75% of and had ready when he walked in the room. We filled in the blanks and added a little melody and I told him after that I didn’t feel right splitting the credit evenly when he did most of the work. He wouldn’t have it. He insisted that everything be equal. He was just that kind of guy,” Underwood posted on Instagram.
Other country music hits written or co-written by James include Jason Aldean’s “The Truth,” Kenny Chesney’s “Out Last Night,” Chesney and Uncle Kracker’s duet “When The Sun Goes Down,” Dierks Bentley’s “I Hold On,” Rodney Atkins’ “It’s America,” Jessica Andrews’ “Who I Am,” Martina McBride’s “Blessed” and “Summer Nights” for Rascal Flatts, which includes Joe Don Rooney of Picher.
James was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year in 2006 and 2010.
Plus, he penned songs for pop and rock stars like Bon Jovi, Nickelback, Leona Lewis and Daughtry and produced albums for Taylor Swift and Jessica Simpson. He even earned a Top 5 Latin hit with “The One You Love (Todo Mi Amor)” by Paulina Rubio.
In 2020, James returned to music as a singer and songwriter, releasing an EP titled “I Am Now,” followed by another EP, “Tell the People.” He was inducted that same year into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, considered one of the country’s most highly prized songwriting achievements.
“Brett loved the Lord. Which is the only comfort we can hold on to now. We even had the pleasure of singing together at church,” posted Underwood, a Checotah native. “My favorite songs to sing of ours are the ones that he or we wrote about Jesus because the thoughts and feelings behind them are so genuine and pure. I won’t ever sing one note of them again without thinking of him.”
She finished her tribute with, “Love you, man. I’ll see you again someday.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Carrie Underwood pens a heartfelt memorial to Oklahoman Brett James
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