Two parents and a grandparent were arrested after a 7-year-old boy’s body was discovered in a freezer in their Lynwood, California, home.
The country music community is mourning the loss of one of its greatest hitmakers.
On Sept. 18, Brett James — best known for co-writing “Jesus, Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood and “When the Sun Goes Down” by Kenny Chesney — died in a plane crash in North Carolina. He was 57.
According to WZTV, James was one of three people aboard the plane. No one survived.
The other two passengers were later identified as James’ wife, Melody Carole, 59, and her daughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson, 28, per the outlet.
"A Cirrus SR22T crashed in a field in Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 18,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement, per Fox News Digital.
The plane was registered to James, but it’s unclear at this time who the pilot was.
The crash is currently under investigation by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Underwood, who won a Grammy for “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” was one of the first artists to speak out on James’ death.
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“Some things are just unfathomable,” she wrote in an Instagram caption alongside a photo of the pair. “The loss of Brett James to his family, friends and our music community is too great to put into words.”
She went on to describe him as the “epitome of ‘cool.’”
“He was a good guy. I remember writing with him on a song that he basically wrote 75% of and had ready when he walked in the room. We filled in the blanks and added a little melody,” Underwood continued.
“I told him after that I didn’t feel right splitting the credit evenly when he did most of the work. He wouldn’t have it. He insisted that everything be equal. He was just that kind of guy…” she added.
A look back at Brett James’ Grammy-winning career in music
Brett James wrote more than 500 songs throughout his legendary career, according to the ASCAP.
“He was also a passionate and eloquent advocate for songwriter rights and generously devoted his time in support of his fellow music creators,” ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams wrote of James.
“He wrote big hits but had an even bigger heart. And his passing is a big loss for our ASCAP family. He will be missed,” the statement concluded.
The Grammy-winning songwriter was born in Columbia, Missouri in 1968 and graduated from Baylor University. He went on to attend medical school at the University of Oklahoma before dropping out.
He then moved to Nashville, Tennessee and began a career in music.
In addition to his hits with Underwood and Chesney, James also co-wrote “Who I Am” by Jessica Andrews, “Blessed” by Martina McBride and “The Truth” by Jason Aldean.
Other artists to record James’ music include Taylor Swift, Jessica Simpson, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, Meghan Trainor, Nick Jonas, Miranda Lambert and Faith Hill.
According to his Instagram bio, he was behind a whopping 27 songs that went No. 1.
As a record producer, he helped artists like Josh Gracin, Kristy Lee Cook and Kip Moore.
He was honored with numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including winning ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year award in 2006 and 2010, according to the NSAI.
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In 2020, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame — one of his biggest honors.
