Country music is mourning one of its greatest songwriters after Grammy-winning Brett James died in a plane crash. The 57-year-old two-time country songwriter of the year was killed when the single-prop light aircraft he owned went down in a field near an elementary school in Franklin, North Carolina, on Thursday on a flight from Nashville, Tennessee. It was not immediately clear whether James, described as a keen aviator, was at the controls. The Federal Aviation Administration said that all three people aboard the Cirrus SR22T were killed. James was behind songs for the likes of Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood, penning a slew of number ones, including “When the Sun Goes Down” for Kenny Chesney and “Jesus, Take the Wheel” for Carrie Underwood, which won a Grammy for Best Country Song. Tributes have poured in for the Missouri native, including from singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley, who collaborated with James on his 2013 hit “I Hold On.” “Rest in peace pal. Total stud. Fellow aviator. One of the best singer-songwriters in our town….total legend,“ Bentley wrote on Instagram. Fellow country star Trish Biondo posted on X: “My heart breaks at the news… Only 57. Such a good guy.”
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