Brett James, the acclaimed songwriter who also wrote for Billy Ray Cyrus, has passed away at the age of 57.
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer died in a plane crash on Thursday, September 18.
According to WLOS, James, whose full name is Brett James Cornelius, was in a small-engine plane that went down in Macon County near Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m. EST.
Authorities confirmed that none of the three passengers survived. The FAA reports that the aircraft was registered to Brett Cornelius of Brentwood, TN.
Shortly after his death was reported, the music community paid a tribute to James.
“We mourn the untimely loss of Hall of Fame member Brett James (Jesus Take The Wheel / When The Sun Goes Down), a 2020 inductee who was killed in a small-engine airplane crash on Sept. 18,” reads a social post from the Nashville Songwriters HOF.
The late artist, who won a Grammy Award for his work on Carrie Underwood’s Jesus, Take The Wheel, left medical school for the music industry and soon became a behind-the-scenes star.
In his early days he wrote for Miley Cyrus’ dad Billy, Kenny Chesney and Martina McBride, and in 2001 landed his first No. 1 with Who I Am by Jessica Andrews.
The musician, who penned more than 300 major-label cut songs, earned two Grammy nominations, winning for best country song for Jesus, Take The Wheel.
The hit record also bagged the ACM single of the year, the ASCAP country song of the year and NSAI Song of the Year. Moreover James was twice named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year, in 2006 and 2010.
James became a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame of 2020, and in the same year released his first self-written artist collection in over 20 years, I Am Now.
