Brett James Dead: Grammy-Winning Country Songwriter Among 3 Killed in North Carolina Plane Crash

Brett James, a Grammy Award-winning country songwriter, died on Thursday after a plane carrying three others in North Carolina. The single-engine Cirrus SR22T that departed from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville and crashed into an open field near Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin, NC, killing all on board, according to WTVF.

The school, situated next to Macon County Airport and surrounded by fields, reported no injuries among students or staff.

Who Was Brett James?

Brett James was among the most influential country music songwriters of the 2000s and early 2010s. He wrote chart-topping hits including Brantley Gilbert’s “Bottoms Up,” Rascal Flatts’ “Summer Nights,” and songs for Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and Carrie Underwood.

In total, James wrote 27 number-one hits on country radio. His work on Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” earned him a Grammy for Best Country Song at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 and a nomination for Song of the Year.

James was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020 and also penned Dierks Bentley’s 2013 hit “I Hold On.”

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Fellow Artists of Brett James Pay Tribute

Dierks Bentley mourned James’ passing Thursday night, calling him “a total legend.” Bentley remembered James not only as a songwriter but also as a fellow aviator.

“Rest in peace pal. Total stud. Fellow aviator. One of the best singer-songwriters in our town… total legend,” Bentley said.

Reflecting on the creation of “I Hold On,” Bentley credited James for shaping the song’s final form, which he wrote following his father’s death.

“I brought a couple of rough sketches of ‘I Hold On’ to Brett after my dad died, and he just did his thing. The chorus is all him. When I sing that song live, I’m always thinking of my dad, but I also think about that day we wrote it. He just got it, just lit into it. It was one of the first times we wrote, and I decided to drop the most meaningful idea of a song I had on him because I felt like God was telling me to do so. Our friendship and that song changed my life. Prayers for his family,” Bentley said.

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