Charting three singles off his 1995 self-titled debut album, Brett James pivoted to songwriting in the early 2000s. If you were listening to country radio back then, James’ work was inescapable, penning hits including Carrie Underwood’s debut single, “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Sadly, the beloved singer-songwriter, 57, died Thursday (Sept. 18) in a North Carolina plane crash. Taking to social media that same day, country star Dierks Bentley paid homage to Brett James.
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The “What Was I Thinkin’” crooner, 49 shared a photo of himself and James posing at an event with their arms around one another. “Rest in peace pal,” Bentley wrote. “Total stud. Fellow aviator. One of the best singer-songwriters in our town….total legend.”
Dierks Bentley Wrote This 2013 Chart-Topper With Brett James
Brett James teamed up with Dierks Bentley on the latter’s 2013 single “I Hold On,” off his seventh studio album Riser. The sentimental ode to clinging to the things you cherish most—be it a beat-up pickup truck, an old guitar, or a lover—went platinum twice and peaked atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
[RELATED: Track Review: Dierks Bentley, “I Hold On”]
In an Instagram post, Bentley recalled the songwriting process for “I Hold On.” Following his dad Leon’s death in 2012, Bentley brought James a few rough sketches. Then, he watched as the Grammy-winning songwriter “did his thing.”
“The chorus is all him… He just got it, just lit into it,” wrote the three-time CMA Award winner. “It was one of the first times we wrote and I decided to drop the most meaningful and necessary idea of a song I had on him, because I felt like God was telling me to do so. Our friendship and that song changed my life.”
North Carolina Plane Crash Kills 3
Brett James, who wrote hits for Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, and more, was one of three people aboard a single-engine Cirrus SR22T aircraft that left Nashville’s John C. Tune Airport on Sept. 18, 2025.
Sadly, the aircraft ran into trouble of an unknown nature over Franklin, North Carolina, plummeting to the ground before crashing in a field near Iotla Valley Elementary School. While no students or staff were injured, all three occupants tragically passed away, including James.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board said they will investigate the crash.
Featured image by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum
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