North Carolina \u2014 The music world is in mourning after news broke that Brett James, the Grammy-winning songwriter behind Carrie Underwood\u2019s smash hit \u201cJesus, Take the Wheel\u201d, was killed earlier today in a plane crash.<\/p>\n
The tragic incident occurred near an elementary school in North Carolina, where James\u2019 small aircraft went down around midday. Authorities confirmed that James, along with two other passengers, did not survive the crash.<\/p>\n
Local officials said it was a miracle that no children or staff at the nearby school were harmed, as the crash happened dangerously close to the playground area. Witnesses described hearing a \u201cloud explosion\u201d followed by flames and thick black smoke.<\/p>\n
A Legacy of Music<\/p>\n
Brett James, 55, was one of Nashville\u2019s most celebrated songwriters, with a career spanning decades. In addition to \u201cJesus, Take the Wheel,\u201d which earned Carrie Underwood her first Grammy, James penned hits for some of country music\u2019s biggest stars, including Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, and Martina McBride.<\/p>\n
Over the years, James racked up more than 500 recorded songs, multiple No. 1 singles, and a reputation as one of the industry\u2019s most gifted lyricists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
North Carolina \u2014 The music world is in mourning after news broke that Brett James, the Grammy-winning songwriter behind Carrie Underwood\u2019s smash hit \u201cJesus, Take the Wheel\u201d,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n