“One Of The Most Talented And Most Respected Songwriters In Nashville” — Tim McGraw Shares Touching Tribute To Brett James

Just heartbreaking.

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

According to authorities in Macon County, NC,  the Cirrus SR22T with 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, finding that his talent was as a songwriter more than 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 of the country realm like 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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James penned Tim McGraw’s “Telluride” and “Drugs or Jesus,” which McGraw says were two of his favorite songs ever recorded. He shared a sweet tribute to his friend, calling him one of the “most talented and most respected songwriters in Nashville”:

“So heartbroken to hear about the passing of Brett James. Brett was one of the most talented and most respected songwriters in Nashville and wrote some of my personal favorite songs I ever recorded, Telluride and Drugs or Jesus.

Our family’s hearts go out to his family, friends and everyone who loved him.”

From what I’ve heard, many of the artists share a similar sentiment about how much

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Many artists have shared memories and messages since the news of Brett James broke, including Carrie Underwood, with whom James wrote frequently including some of her fan-favorite songs like “Flat On The Floor,” “Cowboy Casanova,” “Game On,” “Love Wins,” “Something In The Water,” and her famed (and previously mentioned) hit “Jesus, Take The Wheel.”

She shared a very lengthy post about how much James and his musical gifts have meant to her over the years:

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A post shared by Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood)

“Telluride”

“Drugs or Jesus”

The post “One Of The Most Talented And Most Respected Songwriters In Nashville” — Tim McGraw Shares Touching Tribute To Brett James first appeared on Whiskey Riff.