‘Jesus, Take the Wheel’ songwriter dies in airplane crash in North Carolina

Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James, finest identified for co-writing the 2005 hit track Jesus Take the Wheel, has died in a airplane crash in North Carolina.

James, 57, was one of many three folks aboard a single-engine Cirrus SR22T when it went down “under unknown circumstances in a wooded area”.

All three passengers had been killed within the crash which occurred close to Macon County Airport, authorities mentioned. Flight monitoring information exhibits the airplane took off from an airport in Nashville.

James earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Song for Jesus, Take the Wheel, recorded by Carrie Underwood. Reacting to the information, Underwood referred to as his demise “just unfathomable”.

The track, which additionally obtained a nomination for Song of the Year, grew to become a defining hit of each their careers.

“Brett was the epitome of ‘cool’,” Underwood mentioned. “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. I won’t ever sing one note of them again without thinking of him. Brett’s passing is leaving a hole in all of us that I fear won’t ever go away.”

James additionally penned songs for a variety of artists together with Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Bon Jovi, and Jason Aldean. Aldean, who recorded The Truth, written by James, mentioned he was “heartbroken”.

“I had nothing but love and respect for that guy and he helped change my life. Honored to have met him and worked with him. Thoughts and prayers going out to his family,” Aldean mentioned.

Paul Williams, president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) praised James as “a songwriting force of nature”, noting that he wrote greater than 500 songs throughout genres.

“He wrote big hits but had an even bigger heart,” Williams mentioned.

James was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020 and received the ASCAP songwriter of the yr in 2006 and 2010.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates air accidents, will lead a probe into the crash.