Carson Daly
$15 Million
Brett James’s net worth was estimated at $17 to $20 million at the time of his death in September 2025. He was an American country music songwriter, singer, and producer who wrote more than 300 recorded songs, including multiple #1 hits that defined the country charts across three decades. James was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, recognizing his foundational contribution to commercial country music.
Updated March 2026: Per Billboard, Brett James died on September 18, 2025, in a plane crash near Franklin, North Carolina. His wife Melody Carole and stepdaughter Meryl Maxwell Wilson also perished in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the aircraft lost control during a landing approach. James’s estate, including his extensive catalog of song publishing rights, continues to generate royalty income from his 300-plus recorded compositions.
Brett James Cornelius was born on June 5, 1968. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Baylor University in 1991, demonstrating academic achievement alongside his musical ambitions. Following graduation, he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma medical school, reportedly intending to pursue a medical career, but ultimately left without completing the program to pursue songwriting in Nashville. This unconventional path — from pre-med to Music Row — became a distinctive part of his professional biography. He settled in the Nashville/Brentwood, Tennessee area, which remained his home base throughout his career.
Brett James established himself on Music Row in the 1990s as a staff songwriter before achieving mainstream recognition in the early 2000s. His most celebrated composition, “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” recorded by Carrie Underwood as her debut single in 2005, became one of the signature country songs of the decade. The song spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and earned James the Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 2007 Grammy Awards — one of the most prestigious individual songwriting honors in the genre.
James co-wrote Kenny Chesney‘s “Who I Am” and “When the Sun Goes Down” (the latter a duet with Uncle Kracker that reached #1 on the country charts). He also penned hits for Brooks & Dunn, Tracy Lawrence, Dierks Bentley, and numerous other country artists. His prolific output earned him ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year in both 2006 and 2010 — a rare double achievement that placed him among the most commercially successful writers on the format.
James was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, one of the highest honors available to a Nashville-based songwriter. Over his career, he accumulated more than 300 recorded compositions — a volume that generates substantial ongoing publishing royalty income. His catalog includes multiple certified platinum and multi-platinum recordings.
Brett James was married twice. His first marriage to Sandra Cornelius-Little produced four children: three sons and a daughter named Clare. He subsequently married Melody Carole in 2021; Melody had two children from a prior relationship: Meryl Maxwell Wilson and Lucas Wilson. On September 18, 2025, James, his wife Melody, and stepdaughter Meryl died in a plane crash near Franklin, North Carolina. Per People, the NTSB determined the aircraft lost control during a landing approach. James was 57 years old. He is survived by his four biological children and stepson Lucas Wilson. The Nashville music community mourned his loss widely, with tributes from Carrie Underwood and other artists he had worked with throughout his career.
Brett James’s net worth was estimated at $17 to $20 million at the time of his death in September 2025, according to entertainment industry estimates cited by Yahoo Entertainment. His estate continues to generate income from over 300 recorded songs, including multiple Grammy-winning compositions.
Brett James died on September 18, 2025, in a small plane crash near Franklin, North Carolina. His wife Melody Carole and his stepdaughter Meryl Maxwell Wilson also died in the crash. The NTSB investigation determined the aircraft lost control during a landing approach, per People. James was 57 years old at the time of his death.
Brett James wrote over 300 songs throughout his career. His most famous compositions include “Jesus, Take the Wheel” (Grammy-winning, recorded by Carrie Underwood), “Who I Am” (Kenny Chesney), and “When the Sun Goes Down” (Kenny Chesney featuring Uncle Kracker). He was a two-time ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year (2006 and 2010) and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
Brett James was 57 years old when he died in the plane crash on September 18, 2025. He was born June 5, 1968, in the United States. He had been a professional songwriter for more than three decades at the time of his death.
Yes. Brett James won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 2007 Grammy Awards for co-writing “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” recorded by Carrie Underwood. The song was Underwood’s debut single and spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It was one of the defining country recordings of the 2000s and remains central to Underwood’s catalog.
Brett James earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Baylor University in 1991. He subsequently enrolled in the University of Oklahoma’s medical school but left without completing the program to pursue a career in country music songwriting in Nashville. His Baylor University alumni profile documents his academic and professional journey.