Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James and family killed in US plane crash

Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James, known for penning hits including Carrie Underwood's Jesus, Take the Wheel, died in a plane crash on Thursday, according to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was 57.

A plane registered under James' legal name, Brett Cornelius, crashed into a field in Franklin, North Carolina, about 270 miles southeast of Nashville, around 3 p.m. Thursday, according to data from flight-tracking website FlightAware and a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

It was first reported that all three people on board – the pilot and two passengers – died in the crash, according to the FAA.

As the National Transportation Safety Board continued to investigate the cause, they revealed on September 19 that James' family – his wife Melody Carole, and his stepdaughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson – also died in the crash, as per The New York Times

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration's investigation is continuing, with a preliminary report on the incident expected within 30 days.

The small aircraft took off from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville, according to FlightAware. It crashed into a field near Iotla Valley Elementary School, where students were inside the building preparing for dismissal, district spokesperson Renee Burt told CNN.

James worked with megastars including Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi and Keith Urban. He also cowrote Kenny Chesney's "Out Last Night" and was regarded as one of the industry's most sought-after collaborators.

"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," wrote Sara Evans. Her song Cheatin' was written by James and reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot County chart in 2006.

His more than 500 songs have appeared on albums with combined sales of over 110 million copies, according to the Nashville Songwriters Association International.

READ MORE: Queen's subtle hint about Meghan and Harry we all missed, butler claims

READ MORE: Cadbury reveal fate of lolly after bizarre trend saw it ripped from shelves

READ MORE: Miranda Kerr's hairstylist reveals the one golden rule of haircare

James was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. He also owned the publishing company Cornman Music and served on the board of the Country Music Association and as a national trustee of The Recording Academy, according to the Nashville Symphony.

"He was a kind, giving, delightful soul," Mark Ford, executive director of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, said in a statement. "We join Brett's family and our entire industry in mourning not only his untimely passing but also the songs that he had left to write – the songs that would have made us smile, laugh, and cry in the years and decades to come."

James had a late start to music success

James did not play guitar until he was already on a pre-med track at Baylor, he told the university's alumni magazine. He was in his first year of medical school at the University of Oklahoma when he received a recording contract from Arista Records.

Failing to find success after a seven-year grind in Nashville, James returned to medical school, only to see his songwriting career improbably take off from afar. Getting 33 of his songs recorded in a single year convinced James to leave his studies for good.

"I'd had two recorded in the previous seven years, so 33 in a nine-month period was a pretty good run," James said.

His biggest break came in 2005, when Jesus, Take the Wheel, a song he cowrote with Hillary Lindsay and Gordie Sampson, was attached to the debut album of Carrie Underwood, fresh off her success as American Idol champion.

"She debuted it on the CMA Awards, and it turned into something special for all of us," James told The Tennessean in 2020.

Starting as nothing but a title scribbled down by Sampson with no lyrics, James helped craft the story of a woman who recommits to her faith after a near-death experience on a highway.

James admitted he "didn't think that much" of the song at first, but it became Underwood's first number one country single and earned Grammys for both Underwood and the songwriters.

"I tell you what's crazy is how many people have that story of driving in a car and almost crashing, or feeling like they were pulled out by an angel," said James. "I've heard that story multiple times, like, 'I had that happen to me.' It's interesting that it really touched a nerve."

Underwood remembered James as "the epitome of 'cool,'" "a good guy" and a man of faith.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

"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. Brett was the epitome of "cool'," she penned in an Instagram post Friday.

"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. 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…

"My favourite 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."

James' influence went beyond country music. He cowrote two songs on Chicago's 30th studio album, which was produced in Nashville by Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, following a 15-year studio hiatus for the band.

"I have no words for this one," DeMarcus said Thursday on Instagram. "I am heartbroken. Brett and I wrote a TON of songs together."

"Brett was a trusted collaborator to country's greatest names, and a true advocate for his fellow songwriters," the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers said in an Instagram post announcing James' death.

"Rest in peace pal. Total stud. Fellow aviator. One of the best singer-songwriters in our town….total legend," country musician Dierks Bentley wrote on Instagram.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.

from Celebrity entertainment news, gossip and photos on 9Honey Celebrity https://ift.tt/OPJeGcZ