Columbia, Missouri, songwriter dead at 57 following North Carolina plane crash
Country music songwriter Brett James, a native of Columbia, Missouri, died in a plane crash Thursday, music industry groups said.
In a statement, Paul Williams, the president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, said James was a “songwriting force of nature” who had written more than 500 songs across the musical spectrum.
“He was also a passionate and eloquent advocate for songwriter rights and generously devoted his time in support of his fellow music creators,” Williams said. “He wrote big hits but had an even bigger heart. And his passing is a big loss for our ASCAP family. He will be missed.”
A small single-engine plane registered under James’ legal name, Brett Cornelius, crashed Thursday in Franklin, North Carolina, according to the FAA, which said three people who were onboard all died. The FAA said the plane “crashed under unknown circumstances in a wooded area.” Franklin is southwest of Asheville in western North Carolina.
James was a 2020 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The group confirmed his death Thursday evening.
“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,” the group said. “He was 57.”
James attended Baylor University, completing the university’s pre-medical program in 1991, the university’s magazine posted. He started medical school at the University of Oklahoma before “God pointed him down an entirely different path,” the magazine wrote.
He pursued a music career for seven years in Nashville before returning to Oklahoma and continuing medical school, according to the magazine. Across the span of one year in medical school, 33 of James’ songs were recorded in Nashville.
After his second year of medical school, James left the university for good
.James has worked with well-known artists such as Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean, according to the ASCAP statement
He also worked with Taylor Swift on her self-titled debut album, co-writing the singer’s song “A Perfectly Good Heart,” according to the song’s writing credits.
Some of his best-known songs include “Jesus Take the Wheel,” sung by Underwood; “When the Sun Goes Down,” sung by Chesney and “The Truth,” sung by Aldean, according to the ASCAP statement.
Many artists took to social media to mourn James’ passing.
“My favorite 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,” Underwood posted in a tribute to James on Instagram. “I won’t ever sing one note of them again without thinking of him.”
In a tribute to James posted on Instagram, Aldean said James helped change his life.
“Heartbroken to hear of the loss of my friend Brett James tonight. I had nothing but love and respect for that guy and he helped change my life,” Aldean wrote. “Honored to have met him and worked with him. Thoughts and prayers going out to his family.”
The New York Times identified the other two passengers of the aircraft as Melody Carole and Meryl Maxwell Wilson.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 4:36 PM.
