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 at around 3pm in Franklin, North Carolina, WLOS reports.
He and the only two other passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, with the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announcing the tragic news later in the night. James was inducted into the Hall in 2020.
Students and staff at the nearby elementary school were left uninjured in relation to the crash, 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 tunes, 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.
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.
He earned his first number one hit just six years later with Jessica Andrews’ ‘Who I Am.’
It was his work with Underwood, however, that solidified James as a renowned songwriter. She then performed the song when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, which James called ‘truly the greatest honor of my life.’
He has since had more than 800 of his songs recorded by country artists and non-country artists alike, including the Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi and Nick Jonas, according to Music Mayhem Magazine.
James has previously said his goal was to create songs that connected with people on emotional levels.
Following the news of his tragic death, fellow singers and songwriters took to social media to pay tribute to the icon.
‘I am absolutely devastated at the loss of one of the best writers I’ve ever written with and recorded several of his songs, Brett James,’ Sara Evans shared on Instagram.
‘I’m praying for his loved ones,’ she continued. ‘What a tragic and sad day. He will be so missed.’
Fellow songwriter Jessi Alexander also reminisced about the ‘many fun nights on stage we shared and memories we made traveling around making music together.
‘He lived large and always made me feel special,’ she said. ‘Music Row will never be the same.’
ASCAP further said it is mourning James’ loss, saying he ‘was a trusted collaborator to country’s greatest names and a true advocate for songwriters.