Country Songwriter Brett James and Family Tragically Die in Accident
Brett James’ wife, Melody Carole, and his stepdaughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson, tragically lost their lives in the North Carolina plane crash that also took the country music songwriter’s life.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced on Friday, September 19, that all three perished when their single-engine Cirrus SR22T aircraft went down in a field near Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin, North Carolina, on Thursday, September 18, as reported by The New York Times. The investigations by the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration are ongoing, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days.
The plane was registered to Brett Cornelius, a name suggested to be the musician’s true identity according to a profile on the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame website.
The Hall of Fame previously confirmed on Thursday that James passed away at the age of 57 in “a small-engine airplane crash,” but it was not revealed that Melody and Meryl were also aboard at the time.
Meryl marked her 28th birthday on Tuesday, September 16, with what became a touching final Instagram post: “28 years old.✨142 days sober.✨Extremely happy to be here.”
Melody’s penultimate Instagram post was a heartfelt tribute to Meryl for her birthday.
“How blessed am I to be your Momma,” Melody wrote on Wednesday, September 17. “You’re the MOST BEAUTIFUL AMAZING HUMAN inside and out! I’m humbled and grateful every day for your shining presence in my life! God has already used you for His Kingdom in so many ways and even more to come! No words can express what a gift you are to me and to everyone that KNOWS YOU!”
“MOMMMMAAA 🥹🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🥹 you’re the best thing in the world,” Meryl replied.
In January 2022, Melody — then 59 — revealed that she had married James the previous summer, sharing photos of them cutting their wedding cake.
“What an awesome year! August 21st Brett and I got married. Lucky me,” she wrote on Instagram at that time.
James was an award-winning singer-songwriter known for his work with Taylor Swift, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Bon Jovi, and the Backstreet Boys over his 30-year career. His most notable composition was co-writing Carrie Underwood’s 2006 hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” which topped the Billboard Hot Country chart and earned Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song.
Underwood remembered James as a “good guy” who once shared songwriting credit for a track he “basically wrote 75 percent of.”
“We filled in the blanks and added a little melody, and I told him afterward that I didn’t feel right splitting the credit evenly when he did most of the work,” Underwood, 42, recalled in an Instagram post on Friday. “He wouldn’t have it. He insisted that everything be equal.”
Underwood added, “Brett loved the Lord. That’s the only comfort we can hold on to now. We even had the pleasure of singing together at church. My favorite songs we wrote are those about Jesus because the thoughts and feelings behind them are so genuine and pure. I won’t ever sing a note of them again without thinking of him.”
Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Sara Evans, and many other collaborators of James also expressed their condolences through social media.
“Heartbroken to hear of the loss of my friend Brett James tonight. I had nothing but love and respect for him, and he helped change my life,” Aldean, 48, wrote via X on Thursday. “Honored to have met him and worked with him. Thoughts and prayers are with his family. 💔.”
James is survived by four adult children — three sons and a daughter — from his previous marriage to ex-wife Sandra Cornelius-Little.
