US singer-songwriter Brett James has died in a small plane crash, according to music industry officials.
James, 57, released one solo album in the 1990s but was better known for the hundreds of country songs he worked on behind the scenes.
His most famous was Jesus, Take The Wheel by Carrie Underwood, which earned him two Grammys for best country song and best female country vocal performance in 2007.
The country musician was on board a “small engine airplane” when it crashed on Thursday, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame said in a statement.
“We mourn the untimely loss of Hall of Fame member Brett James, a 2020 inductee who was killed in a small-engine airplane crash on September 18,” it wrote on its Facebook page.
Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) also posted an online tribute, describing him as a “legendary songwriter and board member” and adding: “The loss is profound.”
According to flight data, the plane was registered in James’s name and had three people on board when it came down near Franklin, North Carolina.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it will investigate the circumstances of the crash.
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James with Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson at the 2007 Grammys. Pic: AP
James was well known in the country music scene, working with major artists including Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny Chesney, and Martina McBride.
His work on Jessica Andrews’s song Who I Am in 2001 earned him his first number one single.
Among his other accolades were the Academy of Country Music (ACM) single of the year, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) country song of the year, and NSAI song of the year.
ASCAP paid tribute to him on X, describing him as a “trusted collaborator to country’s greatest names and a true advocate for songwriter”.
Country star Sara Evans’s tribute on Instagram read: “I am absolutely devastated at the loss of one of the best writers I’ve ever written with and recorded several of his songs. Brett James. I’m praying for his loved ones. What a tragic and sad day. He will be so missed.”
