Country music hitmaker dies in plane crash at 57

Brett James, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter with 27 No. 1 songs under his belt, was killed in a plane crash in North Carolina. He was 57.

James was onboard a small-engine plane that went down in Macon County near Franklin around 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18, according to WLOS. All three people onboard the aircraft died, the outlet said citing the Federal Aviation Administration.

Fellow musicians posted tributes to the late songwriter on social media.

“Heartbroken to hear of the loss of my friend Brett James tonight,” country star Jason Aldean wrote in an Instagram post. “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. Thoughts and prayers going out to his family.”

“Heartbroken with the news my friend and legendary song writer, Brett James has died in a plane crash,” Journey rhythmic guitarist Jonathan Cain wrote on Instagram. “I was blessed to see what an amazing man of family and community he was while I lived in Nashville. Brett James will truly be missed by all of who knew him. Prayers for all his family and everyone who is grieving.”

James’ started his professional music career as a solo artist when he signed with Arista Nashville’s imprint Career Records in 1995. He released his self-titled debut album the same year and charted three singles on the Hot Country Songs chart. He charted two more singles in 2002 and 2003.

After shifting his focus to songwriting, James penned hits for Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny Chesney and Martina McBride, Billboard reported. He landed his first chart-topping hit with “Who I Am” by Jessica Andrews in 2001. James won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song for writing Carrie Underwood’s smash hit “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” which hit No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot Country Songs chart. The song also won an ACM Award and CMT Award.

James was also twice named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year, in 2006 and 2010, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. Overall, he penned more than 300 major-label tracks including “Blessed” by McBride, “When the Sun Goes Down” and “Out Last Night” by Chesney, “It’s America” for Rodney Atkins and “The Truth” for Aldean.

“The NSAI family is stunned by the death of board member and legendary songwriter Brett James,” the Nashville Songwriters Association International wrote on Facebook. “The loss is profound.”