WHO was Grammy-winner songwriter, Brett James?

Nashville-based singer, songwriter, and record producer Brett James tragically died in an airplane crash on Thursday, September 18th. The Cirrus SR22T aircraft left Nashville, Tennessee, and then crashed down west of North Carolina's Iotla Valley Elementary School in Macon County. Soon after the news was revealed , tributes and condolences started pouring in for Brett . He penned some of the really popular songs like " Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Cowboy Casanova" for Carrie Underwood. His songs are sung and performed by artists such as Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Jessica Andrews, Martina McBride, and later Carrie Underwood.

Who is Brett?

Brett was born on June 5, 1968, in Columbia, Missouri . He completed his schooling at Christian Heritage Academy High School in Del City, Oklahoma, in 1986. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991 from Baylor University. Brett also attended medical school in the early 1990s. He then dropped out of medical school to pursue a musical career as a recording artist on Career Records, a subsidiary of Arista Nashville, in 1995.

The song went on to win two Grammy Awards in 2007 for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Additionally, the song reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song also won the ACM Single of the Year , the ASCAP Country Song of the Year, and the NSAI Song of the Year. The musician had a hot streak of 33 songs recorded by major artists during the year of his Teracel contract. Brett penned more than 300 songs in his career. Brett was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. The ceremony was hosted in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

He is survived by his wife, Sandra Cornelius, and their children.