Brett James, the celebrated talent behind Carrie Underwood’s iconic hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” has died at the age of 57, per faroutmagazine.co.uk. The Grammy-winning songwriter was one of three people killed in a private plane crash in Franklin, North Carolina, on Thursday, September 18, 2025.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed a Cirrus SR22T aircraft, registered to James, crashed after departing from Nashville. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the cause of the incident.
Tributes have poured in from the country music community. The Nashville Songwriters Association International mourned the loss of their board member and “legendary songwriter.” The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, which inducted James in 2020, also expressed sorrow over his “untimely loss.”
Throughout his prolific career, James penned over 300 songs for music’s biggest stars, including Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, and Kelly Clarkson. He earned his first number-one hit with Jessica Andrews’s “Who I Am” and was named ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year in both 2006 and 2010. His work on “Jesus, Take the Wheel” earned him a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. James had released a self-written album, I Am Now, in 2020.
•Featured image: Brett James by artiste
