Carrie Underwood Remembers Late ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel’ Songwriter Brett James
Photo by: Disney/Gizelle Hernandez Reading Time: 2 minutes
American Idol winner Carrie Underwood recently took to Instagram to pay tribute to songwriter Brett James, who sadly passed away last week at age 57. James co-wrote several songs performed by Underwood, including her 2005 hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”
Carrie Underwood Remembers Songwriter Brett James
Songwriter Brett James tragically died in a plane crash in North Carolina last week at the age of 57. According to the BBC, James was one of three passengers killed when a single-engine Cirrus SR22T crashed “under unknown circumstances in a wooded area.”
James worked on several songs recorded by country star Carrie Underwood, most notably the 2005 single “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” The song earned James a Grammy for Best Country Song, as well as a nomination for Song of the Year.
“Some things are just unfathomable. The loss of Brett James to his family, friends and our music community is too great to put into words,” Underwood wrote in an Instagram post that included three photos of herself and James over the years.
Underwood called James “a good guy,” recalling a time when she “didn’t feel right splitting the credit evenly” on a song that was mostly written by him. As she shared, “He wouldn’t have it. He insisted that everything be equal. He was just that kind of guy…”
SEE ALSO: CARRIE UNDERWOOD SAYS GOODBYE TO SIGNATURE BLONDE, RETURNS TO NATURAL HAIR COLOR
Underwood Asks Fans to Pray for James’ Family
In her tribute to James, Underwood highlighted his Christian faith, writing, “My favorite songs to sing of ours are the ones that he or we wrote about Jesus because the thoughts and feelings behind them are so genuine and pure. I won’t ever sing one note of them again without thinking of him.”
Underwood ended her post by asking fans “to pray for his family, friends and all of us that were blessed enough to know Brett.” In a closing message to James, she wrote, “Love you, man. I’ll see you again someday.”
James was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. Over the years, he worked on songs for a number of well-known artists such as Martina McBride, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, and Kelly Clarkson. He was named ASCAP songwriter of the year in 2006 and 2010.
