Heartbroken Kenny Chesney Grieves Death Of “Brother” Brett James
on Sep 23, 2025
Songwriter Brett James Was Killed In A Plane Crash On September 18
Like many others in the country music community, Kenny Chesney is mourning the death of Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James.
Brett James scored his first #1 hit as a songwriter when Jessica Andrews took “Who I Am” to the top of the chart in 2001. From there, Brett went on to pen some of the greatest songs released in country music in the past two decades.
Those songs include Martina McBride‘s “Blessed,” Dierks Bentley‘s “I Hold On,” and Carrie Underwood‘s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Brett won the Grammy for Best Country Song for the latter track.
On Thursday (September 18), reports surfaced that a Cirrus SR22T aircraft belonging to Brett crashed in North Carolina. The plane crashed close to Iotla Valley Elementary School, which sits adjacent to the Macon County Airport.
It was later confirmed that Brett, his wife Melody, and her daughter Meryl were all killed in the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shared a statement with Country Rebel about the investigation into the crash.
“An NTSB investigator is on scene documenting the scene, examining the aircraft. The aircraft will then be removed and taken to a secure facility for further evaluation.”
RELATED: CARRIE UNDERWOOD MOURNS TRAGIC DEATH OF “JESUS, TAKE THE WHEEL” WRITER BRETT JAMES
A complete preliminary crash report will be released within 30 days of the accident’s date. However, the final report may take two years to complete.
Kenny Chesney Shares Moving Tribute To Brett James, Says He “Didn’t Want To Believe” He Was Gone
One of Brett James’ closest friends was country music superstar Kenny Chesney. Brett wrote many of Kenny’s hit songs, including “When the Sun Goes Down,” “Out Last Night,” “You Save Me,” and “Knowing You.”
When Kenny learned that Brett had been killed in a plane crash, he couldn’t process the news. He took several days to grieve in private before sharing a tribute to his longtime friend and collaborator.
“A very difficult goodbye to my Brother Of The Sun Brett James,” Kenny opened the post he shared on Monday (September 22). “I haven’t wanted to post cause I didn’t want to believe it. Brett and I shared a unique bond. A Brotherhood. A kinship.”
Kenny recalled how much fun he and Brett had writing songs together. He described their special connection, writing:
“It’s hard to process his creative soul being gone. This kind of loss. I feel as if part of my creative soul went with him. It will be a void in my life and creativity forever. I’ve never known writing songs or being on the road without him.”
Because so many of his songs were written by Brett, Kenny says it will be “impossible” for him to ever perform at another concert without thinking of him.
Kenny ended his tribute with some poignant lyrics from his song “Knowing You,” which Brett co-wrote with Adam James and Kat Higgins.
“God, we were so alive. I was a kid on a carnival ride, holding my breath ’til the moment you were gonna leave me too soon. But I’d do it all over, ’cause damn it was good knowing you.”
See Kenny Chesney’s tribute to Brett James below. He also shared several photos of them together through the years, which you can see by scrolling through the carousel.
