Songwriter Brett James was a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
A Missouri native, he left medical school to launch a music career in Nashville, his Hall of Fame bio says. In 2006, “the chart-topping ‘Jesus Take The Wheel’ by Carrie Underwood earned the 2006 Grammy for Best Country Song,” it adds.
Now, James has tragically died in a plane crash, according to NBC News. The plane went down in a field in North Carolina on the afternoon of September 18, 2025.
James is survived by his wife Sandra Cornelius and their four kids, according to Hello!, which noted that his real name was Brett James Cornelius. He was 57 years old. He had three sons and a daughter with his wife.
Brett James Posted Photos With His Wife Sandra Cornelius on Instagram
James sometimes posted family photos on Instagram. “So much fun with my love in the Bahamas,” he wrote with one photo.
“Love Colorado with my kids! These two and I summited 4 peaks over 14000 ft today đ,” he wrote with another photo.
He posted a photo from his daughter’s high school graduation in 2019.
(Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP)
He wrote a song called “True Believer” about a father-daughter relationship. “I sort of loved watching them all cry as they listened to the song. My daughter and I will always have that moment, and we will always have that song,” he told American Songwriter.
Brett James Died With 2 Other People in the Crash
Aviation authorities provided some details of the plane crash.
- “A Cirrus SR22T crashed in a field in Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 18,” according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
- “Three people were on board. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide further updates.”
According to NBC News, the other people who died in the crash were named Melody Carole and Meryl Maxwell Wilson.
Dierks Bentley paid tribute to James on Instagram, writing, “Rest in peace pal. Total stud. Fellow aviator. One of the best singer-songwriters in our townâŠ.total legend. I brought a couple of roughy sketched verse ideas of I Hold On to Brett after my dad died and he just did his thing.”
His bio indicates that James wrote songs for some of the country’s top artists.
“After several years as an Arista/Career recording artist, he continued writing for others, scoring early cuts by Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny Chesney and Martina McBride,” the bio says. “In 2001, ‘Who I Am’ by Jessica Andrews became Brettâs first #1 hit.”
It adds, “Now with more than 300 major-label cuts, Brettâs catalogue includes hits such as ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ by Kenny Chesney & Uncle Kracker, ‘Cowboy Casanova’ by Carrie Underwood, ‘Itâs America’ by Rodney Atkins, ‘Out Last Night’ by Kenny Chesney, ‘Summer Nights’ by Rascal Flatts, ‘The Man I Want To Be’ by Chris Young and ‘Bottoms Up’ by Brantley Gilbert. Brett also has a Top 5 Latin hit with ‘The One You Love (Todo Mi Amor)’ by Paulina Rubio.”
