The composer Brett James, a winner of the Grammy Award, known as one of the 2005 Successful Piecers Jesus the Wheel, died in a plane crash in North Carolina.
Brett James died in a photo crash: X
James, 57, was one of the three people on board a monomotor plane Cirrus SR22T when he collapsed “In unknown circumstances in an wooded area.”
All three passengers died in the accident that took place near Macon County, the authorities said. The flight tracking data show that the plane has taken off from an airport in Nashville, writes the BBC.
James won a Grammy award for best Country song for Jesus, Take The Wheel, recorded by Carrie Underwood. Reacting to the news, Underwood has qualified James’s death “Simply incomprehensible.”
The song, which also received a nomination in the category “Melody of the Year”, became a defining hit for both careers.
“Brett was the embodiment of the cool”, said Underwood. “My favorite songs of the ones we played together are the ones he or we wrote about Jesus, because the thoughts and feelings behind them are so sincere and pure. I will never sing a single note without thinking about Him. Brett’s death leaves an emptiness in us all, who will never disappear.”
James also composed songs for a wide range of artists, including Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Bon Jovi and Jason Adean. Aldean, who recorded the song The Truth, composed by James, said he was “devastated”.
“I had only love and respect for that man, who helped me change my life. I feel honored to know him and that I worked with him. My thoughts and prayers are heading for his family.”said Aldean.
Paul Williams, the president of the American Society of Composers, Aers and publishers (ASCAP), praised James as “a force of nature in the musical composition,” mentioning that he wrote over 500 songs from different genres.
“He composed great successes, but he had an even greater heart,” said Williams.
