A songwriter who worked with icons like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood was tragically killed in a small plane crash on Thursday, along with two others.
Brett James, 57, was onboard his Cirrus SR22T when it went down west of Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin, North Carolina Thursday afternoon, WLOS reports.
He and two others were pronounced dead at the scene, with the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announcing the tragic news later in the night – noting that he was a 2020 inductee.
Students and staff at the nearby school were safe and were left uninjured in the collision, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office has said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are now investigating what caused the plane – which departed from Nashville, Tennessee at around 12.41pm – to suddenly go down.
In the meantime, the hitmaker is now being remembered for his country hits, including Underwood’s Grammy-winning ‘Jesus, Take The Wheel’ and ‘The Truth’ by Jason Aldean.
For his work, James was twice named the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Country Songwriter of the year.
He also worked as a producer, serving on the boards of Country Music Association and the Recording Academy. Additionally, James owned the publishing company Cornman Music.
Songwriter Brett James, 57, died in a small plane crash on Thursday
He was twice named the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Country Songwriter of the year
No one on board the small Cessna survived the impact of the collision
But James, who was born on June 5, 1968, in Columbia, Missouri, had initially intended to pursue a career in medicine, Country Now reports.
He was halfway through medical school, when he left college to follow his passion for music.
James then signed to Arista Nashville’s imprint Career Records as a solo artist and released his first solo album in 1995.
It was his work with Underwood, however, that solidified James as a renowned songwriter.
He has previously said his goal was to create songs that connected with people on emotional levels.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
