Kenny Chesney Pens Emotional Tribute To His “Brother Of The Sun,” Brett James: “Will Be A Void In My Life & Creativity Forever”

Penning a note to his late friend.

Kenny Chesney is speaking out about the death of the Grammy Award-winning songwriter, frequent collaborator, and longtime friend, Brett James.

On September 18th, the country music world lost a great singer and songwriter when Brett James, his wife, and stepdaughter were tragically killed in a plane crash in North Carolina.

According to authorities in Macon County, NC, the Cirrus SR22T, tail number N218VB, took off from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville shortly after noon on Thursday before crashing near Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin, North Carolina. Thankfully, all students and staff at the elementary school were safe, but all three passengers on the plane were killed in the crash. The aircraft was registered to James, whose full name was Brett James Cornelius.

Brett James got his start in the music industry after he decided to drop out of medical school at the University of Oklahoma after the release of his self-titled debut record in 1995. Two singles from the project charted, “Chasing Amy” and “After All,” which later led him to sign a record deal with Arista Nashville in the 2000s. However, James never released another record as a solo artist. Later in his career, he would go on to release a few singles, discovering that his talent lay more in songwriting than as a solo artist.

After his music career failed to take off, James signed a songwriting deal, but decided to return to medical school. James continued writing songs while attending medical school to fulfill his contract.

From there, he found himself having success at his side gig, scoring 33 songs recorded by major artists, so he decided to focus on songwriting once and for all. During his career, James penned 27 #1 hits including songs like “Jesus, Take The Wheel” for Carrie Underwood, “When The Sun Goes Down” and “Out Last Night” by Kenny Chesney, “The Truth” by Jason Aldean, “The Man I Want To Be” by Chris Young, and “Somethin’ Bad” by Miranda Lambert.

But that’s just the start. James wrote tunes for artists like Tim McGraw, Wynonna, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dierks Bentley, Lorrie Morgan, and artists outside the country realm, such as Bon Jovi and the Backstreet Boys.

Inducted into the Songwriter Hall of Fame in 2020, the organization paid tribute to the famed songwriter after the news of his death broke.

“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 September 18. He was 57.”

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Since his passing, many artists, including Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, and others, have penned heartfelt tributes about James. However, there was one longtime collaborator the world had not heard from: Kenny Chesney.

James and Chesney worked heavily together, with James penning many hits from his catalog, including “When the Sun Goes Down,” “Out Last Night,” “Just to Say We Did,” “You Save Me,” “Dancin’ for the Groceries,” “Flip Flop Summer,” “Keg In The Closet,” and more. After processing the heartbreaking news for a few days, Kenny Chesney broke his silence and shared a tender note with fans regarding how much Brett James meant to him.

Chesney admitted that writing something about James made it all feel too real, and he was in denial after learning the news that his friend was gone.

“A very difficult goodbye to my Brother Of The Sun, Brett James.

I haven’t wanted to post cause I didn’t want to believe it. Brett and I shared a unique bond. A Brotherhood. A kinship. We wrote ‘Reality’ and ‘Out Last Night’ on the same afternoon sitting on my pool deck in the Virgin Islands two days after Christmas.

We had a lot of authentic life fun writing songs together over the years and I’m sure going to miss it. It’s hard to process his creative soul being gone. This kind of loss. I feel as if part of my creative soul went with him. It will be a void in my life and creativity forever. I’ve never known writing songs or being on the road without him. Half the songs in my shows are songs he wrote or songs we wrote together. So it’s impossible for me to do shows moving forward and not think about him.

I can’t believe I’m saying it but adios Brett James. Thank you for being a lifer, for being a shirtless, sunburned troubadour, for your friendship, your songs and all the laughs. Save me a seat at the After Party!”

Kenny Chesney closes out his post by sharing some lyrics from “Knowing You,” which was penned by James, Adam James, and Kat Higgins and appeared on his 2020 record, Here and Now.

“God we were so alive
I was a kid on a carnival ride
Holding my breath til the moment you were gonna leave me too soon
But I’d do it all over ’cause damn it was good Knowing You”

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A post shared by Kenny Chesney (@kennychesney)

It’s evident that Brett James was loved by many, and he will be deeply missed in the country music community and beyond. As with many other tributes, Chesney’s words paint a vivid picture of a man who was full of life, laughter, and love.

Rest in peace, Brett James. May his legacy live on through his music forever.

Before you go, fire up “Knowing You.”

The post Kenny Chesney Pens Emotional Tribute To His “Brother Of The Sun,” Brett James: “Will Be A Void In My Life & Creativity Forever” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.