September 20, 2025: Acclaimed Nashville songwriter Brett James Cornelius, known professionally as Brett James, was killed along with his wife and stepdaughter when a small private plane registered in his name crashed in Franklin, North Carolina, on Thursday afternoon. He was 57.
According to preliminary information from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the single-engine Cirrus SR22T went down in a field near Iotla Valley Elementary School around 3 p.m. local time on September 18. Authorities confirmed that all three people on board—James, his wife Melody Carole, and her daughter Meryl Maxwell Wilson—died at the scene. Local officials assured parents that students and staff at the nearby school were unharmed.
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The flight departed from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville, Tennessee, just after 12:40 p.m., flight-tracking data shows. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have opened a full investigation, with the NTSB leading the probe.
Brett James was celebrated across the country music industry for penning chart-topping hits, including Carrie Underwood’s Grammy-winning “Jesus Take The Wheel” and Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker’s “When the Sun Goes Down.” Originally from Columbia, Missouri, James had once planned a medical career before switching to music in the early 1990s. He released his debut album in 1995 and went on to win multiple awards, including ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year in 2006 and 2010. His 2020 EP I Am Now marked his first solo release in more than two decades.
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Tributes have poured in from fellow artists. Jason Aldean, who recorded James’s co-written hit “The Truth,” said on X that he was “heartbroken to hear of the loss of my friend Brett James… he helped change my life.” Singer Sara Evans called him “one of the best writers I’ve ever worked with,” describing the loss as “tragic and sad.”
James is survived by his wife Sandra and their four children. The music world remembers him as a gifted storyteller whose songs shaped modern country music and touched millions of listeners worldwide.
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