Brett James, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter and Baylor University graduate, died in a plane crash this week in North Carolina, authorities told NBC News.
James was 57.
A multi-time ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year winner, James has written songs recorded by Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Billy Ray Cyrus, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flats and Carrie Underwood.
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James earned his two Grammy nominations for Underwood’s song “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” winning Best Country Song and snagging a Song of the Year nomination.
He was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
James attended Baylor University, graduating from the school in 1991.
He got his first guitar and started writing songs in college, according to Baylor Magazine, while studying pre-med. He then went to medical school at the University of Oklahoma before going to Nashville to pursue his music dreams.
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James later returned to medical school while continuing to write on the side. His first year back, however, was a breakout year, he told the magazine, leading him to return to Nashville at the end of the school year.
The rest was history.
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