Brett James Cornelius, a Grammy-winning country music songwriter who wrote over 15 songs with Rascal Flatts, died on Sept. 18 after a small-engine plane crashed in a field in Franklin, North Carolina.
The Columbia, Missouri, native cowrote hits including Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take The Wheel,” which earned him a Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Country Song.
He was also a 2020 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
2020 inductee Brett James gives an interview during the the 50th/51st Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. Singwriters 110121 An 014
Cornelius penned Rascal Flatts hits, including “Summer Nights” and “Love You Out Loud.”
Gary LeVox, the lead singer of the country music band originally formed in Columbus, posted a tribute to his friend Sept. 19 on social media. He said they wrote each of these hits over coffee while brainstorming melodies for fans.
“We’re all loving u out loud Bj. I will miss u and r talks and texts and melodies and laughs. We wrote a lot about where you’re standing now,” the singer said in the post. “I know it’s gotta be better than what we tried to come up with. I love u and will miss u!”
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to Nashville’s WZTV Fox 17 that a Cirrus SR22T plane with a pilot and two passengers on board crashed in Franklin, North Carolina, about 3 p.m. local time on Sept. 18, according to reporting from The Tennessean.
He was 57 when he died. He is survived by his wife, Sandra, and their four children.
Sophia Veneziano is a Columbus Dispatch reporter supported by the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation. She may be reached at [email protected]. The Dispatch retains full editorial independence for all content.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rascal Flatts songwriter Brett James dies in North Carolina plane crash
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