• Source:JND
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Brett James, the Grammy-winning songwriter behind hits such as Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” was killed in a plane crash on Thursday afternoon. The aircraft, registered under his legal name, Brett Cornelius, went down in a field near Franklin, North Carolina, about 270 miles southeast of Nashville. The crash occurred around 3 pm, authorities confirmed.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a US government agency responsible for regulating and overseeing civil aviation, in a statement said that the aircraft crashed under "unknown circumstances" in a wooded area near Franklin, North Carolina.

Who was Brett James?

Brett James, a top songwriter who worked with stars like Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, and Keith Urban, has passed away. He also co-wrote Kenny Chesney’s hit song “Out Last Night” and was known as one of the most in-demand collaborators in the music industry.

Country singer Sara Evans shared her grief, saying, “I am absolutely devastated at the loss of one of the best writers I’ve ever worked with.” James wrote her 2006 Top 10 hit “Cheatin’.”

According to the Nashville Songwriters Association International, James had more than 500 songs featured on albums that sold over 110 million copies.

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He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, owned a music publishing company called Cornman Music, and served on the boards of both the Country Music Association and The Recording Academy.

A late start in Music

James didn’t start playing guitar until he was already studying to become a doctor at Baylor University. He was in his first year of medical school at the University of Oklahoma when he got a record deal from Arista Records.

After spending seven years in Nashville without much success, he returned to medical school. But surprisingly, his songwriting career took off while he was still studying. In just one year, 33 of his songs were recorded by artists. That success convinced him to leave medical school for good and focus on music.

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