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\n\tBrett James<\/a>, the Grammy-winning country songwriter behind hits like Carrie Underwood\u2019s \u201cJesus, Take the Wheel\u201d and Kenny Chesney\u2019s \u201cOut Last Night,\u201d died Thursday when the plane he was piloting crashed in North Carolina. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, which inducted James in 2020, confirmed his death in a Facebook post. He was 57.<\/p>\n \n\tJames was reportedly piloting a Cirrus SR22T plane, which took off from Nashville\u2019s John C. Tune Airport Thursday afternoon before crashing in North Carolina.<\/p>\n \n\tWhile James\u2019 biggest achievement was Underwood\u2019s \u201cJesus, Take the Wheel,\u201d which won him the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 2006, the Nashville songwriter was responsible for some of the genre\u2019s most recognizable and enduring radio hits. He co-wrote Kenny Chesney\u2019s \u201cWhen the Sun Goes Down,\u201d Dierks Bentley\u2019s \u201cI Hold On,\u201d Martina McBride\u2019s \u201cBlessed,\u201d and Jason Aldean\u2019s \u201cThe Truth,\u201d among many others, and was regarded as one of Music City\u2019s most sough-after collaborators.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI always say there\u2019s two ways to grow old as a songwriter,\u201d James told PBS\u2019s The Songwriters<\/em><\/a> series earlier this year. \u201cOne way is to sit with a young 18-year-old or 19-year-old and think you know everything\u2026. And the other is to listen, and the other is to learn. What I\u2019m trying to do every day now, is to soak up the brilliance of the young kids that I am fortunate enough to work with and then sprinkle in whatever experience and knowledge that I have.\u201d<\/p>\n