Brett James, Grammy Award Winner, Dead After Plane Crash

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The music community is mourning a pivotal artist.

Brett James, the songwriter behind the hit song “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” tragically died in a plane crash in North Carolina on September 18th. He was 57 years old, according to NBC News.

According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, a crash near Franklin resulted in three fatalities. NBC News reports the victims were identified as Brett James Cornelius, Melody Carole, and Meryl Maxwell Wilson.

Following the crash of a Cirrus SR22T aircraft, the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) and National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) announced they will be investigating. The NTSB will take the lead on the investigation, according to a statement provided to NBC News.

According to CNN, citing FlightAware, the plane departed from Nashville’s John C. Tune Airport and crashed roughly 270 miles southeast of the city, landing in a field near Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin. The Macon County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on social media that all students and staff at the school are safe.

James has enjoyed a successful thirty-year career in music. He began as a performer but shifted his focus to songwriting in the early 2000s. Since then, he’s contributed to an impressive 494 songs, including hits for artists like Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, and Keith Urban.

James is perhaps best known for writing “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” which became a hit song for Carrie Underwood in 2005. The song earned both of them Grammy Awards: Underwood won for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and James won for Best Country Song.

James received two major honors for his songwriting: he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, and named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year in both 2006 and 2010.

After James’s passing, ASCAP shared a message on Instagram, remembering him as a valued partner to many country music stars and a strong supporter of songwriters. They expressed how much he would be missed by his ASCAP family and thanked him for his lasting musical contributions.

Even though James became a successful songwriter, he nearly gave up music to become a doctor. He initially left medical school to follow his musical ambitions, but after his first album, *Brett James*, didn’t gain traction, he went back to med school in 1999.

James once explained to Yamaha’s All Access that he was planning to leave the music industry. However, things changed when Faith Hill recorded his song, ‘Love is a Sweet Thing.’ He found it strange because he was preparing for medical school, but his publisher kept calling with news that other artists were recording his songs. He’d always hoped to have ten songs recorded in a year, but ended up with thirty-three that year.

This success motivated him to return to the music industry, and his songwriting continued to thrive.

Country singer Dierks Bentley is among those saddened by the passing of Glenn James, who contributed to Bentley’s song “I Hold On.”

Dierks Bentley shared on Instagram that Brett James is “one of the best singer-songwriters in our town…a total legend.” Bentley explained that after his father passed away, he brought some initial ideas for the song ‘I Hold On’ to James, who quickly and expertly fleshed them out. Bentley says whenever he performs the song, he’s reminded of both his father and the special day they co-wrote it, noting James immediately understood the emotional core of the song.

He continued, “Our friendship and that song changed my life. Prayers for his family.”

James is survived by his wife Sandra Cornelius and their children.

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2025-09-19 15:17