September 23, 2025 • 18 mins
Some losses leave us searching for words where there are none. The sudden passing of Brett James Cornelius, along with his wife and her daughter, in a plane crash on September 18, 2025, has left Nashville's music community reeling in grief. This special episode stands as a raw, heartfelt tribute to a songwriter whose pen crafted some of country music's most enduring hits, and whose heart crafted friendships that defined the Nashville community.
Brett James wasn't just a Grammy-winning songwriter behind Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel," Kenny Chesney's "When the Sun Goes Down," or Dierks Bentley's "I Hold On"—he was a presence you felt. Born in Missouri and twice attempting medical school before answering Nashville's persistent call, Brett approached songwriting with humility that elevated everyone in the room. "Some days you write something nobody will ever hear," he once said, "and then one day you write 'Jesus Take the Wheel.' That's the job, that's the beauty."
This episode weaves through Brett's musical journey, from his self-titled solo album in 1995 to his 2020 EP "I Am Now," featuring the moving "True Believer." Through tears and memories, we explore the stories behind his biggest hits and the profound impact of his genuine character. The episode concludes with a poignant performance of "Fall Into His Hands," the last song shared when Brett and I performed together earlier this year—a fitting reminder that while we may never understand such profound loss, music remains our collective solace.
Join me in honoring a true Nashville legend whose voice may be silenced but whose songs will forever echo in the hearts of millions. Share his music, remember his spirit, and keep his family in your prayers as we navigate this unthinkable loss together.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everybody, this week's episode is a little bit
different.
I wanted to do this one wherewe don't have a guest but we
give tribute to someone who wasgoing to be a guest and a very
good friend.
Today is September 19th and, asI record this podcast, our
(00:23):
Nashville industry was crushedlast night with the news of my
dear friend, brett James, wholost his life, along with his
wife and her daughter, in aplane crash.
As songwriters, we write songs,we get our emotions out and, as
I tossed in tears all nightlast night, I needed to get this
(00:45):
out.
It was just a couple weeks agothat we last spoke.
He sent me a message onSeptember 6th with encouragement
and love, because that's whoBrett was.
In the heart of Nashville.
There are voices you hear andthere are voices that you feel,
and Brett James was one of thosethat you felt.
(01:06):
A man who shaped country musicnot only with melodies and
lyrics, but with gentleness,faith, heart and the belief that
a song could lift a soul.
Today we look back at hisjourney, the songs, the stories
(01:31):
behind them and the man behindthe music, and how the music
world has suddenly become alittle bit more silent.
Brett James Cornelius was bornJune 5th 1968 in Columbia,
missouri.
We shared that Missouriupbringing and we talked about
it often.
He grew up with music in hisbones.
(01:53):
His mom was a classical pianistand his dad a physician who
loved to sing.
Brett himself once joked in aninterview that he said I tried
to be a doctor twice, but Iguess God had other plans.
Brett himself once joked in aninterview that he said I tried
to be a doctor twice, but Iguess God had other plans.
Nashville just kept calling myname and Nashville and our songs
(02:21):
out there in the world arebetter because of Brett
listening to that calling.
He left medicine, left medicalschool and decided to chase
music, and in 1995, he releaseda self-titled solo album.
He had a voice like an angelman.
I loved that voice and he couldhave been an incredible artist
himself, but he decided to chasesongwriting instead.
Brett had something so specialIn a music city.
(02:45):
The songs will always find itsway.
Probably the most defining songof his career was Jesus Take the
Wheel, a song that he wrotewith Hilary Lindsay and Gordy
Sampson.
It became the song that helpedlaunch Carrie Underwood into
stardom.
Hilary once said that theydidn't know if that song would
(03:08):
even get recorded, but that itfelt like it was lightning in a
bottle when they wrote it.
I think that writing sessionstarted with the title that
Gordy Sampson brought in,brought into the table that day.
They weren't even sure what todo with it, but they found the
story.
They found it A young woman, awinter road, a baby in the back
(03:33):
seat and a prayer that turnedinto surrender.
Brett said that they werewriting it and he remembered
thinking that this feels biggerthan us.
It just felt like the kind ofsong that people might need one
day and my brother, we need thissong today.
(03:56):
I don't understand.
I don't understand why thishappened.
None of us do.
That song went on to win twoGrammys, countless awards and
became a lifetime for listeners,to listen everywhere.
Then some other great songs.
(04:16):
There was when the Sun GoesDown, kenny Chesney's smash
summer anthem with Uncle Cracker.
He could talk about that songand how he actually wrote that
one.
In a car on the way home, hewalked in and sang it to his
wife and her response, I think,was something like just simple
(04:38):
that's a hit.
And she was right.
This is proof that sometimesinspiration doesn't wait for a
song, doesn't wait for a writingroom doesn't wait for
co-writers.
It just can strike you betweenred lights and back roads.
And Brett was always thinkinglike that he was.
He was full of life and alwayshad a song brewing in his head.
(05:02):
Just just the kind of guy hewas.
He was always like that.
Another heartfelt song that hewrote was Jessica Andrews', who
I Am.
He wrote that with Choi Burgessand it became a declaration of
(05:24):
identity and belonging.
I heard her in an interview onetime with Jessica where she
talked about the lyrics of thatsong and about how that was her
story, except for the nameRosemary.
Rosemary was Brett's grandmaand that song is a songwriter's
gift To listen and translate andturn life into lyrics.
(05:47):
That's what Brett did.
And then there's the song IHold On with Dierks.
Bentley was written in theshadow of loss, after Dierks
father passed away, and Dierkssaid that he brought in like
scraps of lines for that songand, you know, just brought it
(06:12):
to Brett and he just, he justknew where to go with it.
Brett just took it and he knewwhat to do and he helped Dirk's
turn grief into something thathe could sing and something he
could live, and together theycreated that song about loyalty,
about holding tight onto whatmatters, even when the world
(06:33):
shifts under your feet.
Brett Sir Brett, as he liked tobe called with his brother,
chris DiStefano they wereactually both knighted, which is
a fun story to hear him talkabout.
He loved, he loved telling thatstory and laughing about it.
(06:54):
Sir Brett, the world hasshifted under our feet, man, but
I hold on and I know everyoneelse does too To your songs and
your legacy Through all his hits.
What I remember most about Brettwasn't the awards, it was the
man.
(07:14):
Brett never walked into a roomthinking he was the smartest guy
there.
He walked in asking how can wewrite the best song today?
That humility made everyonebetter.
He was a friend to everyone.
He got to know.
He was candid about failure andpersistence.
He admitted writing hundreds,hundreds of songs that never saw
(07:39):
the light of day.
But he believed in showing up,in faith, in the magic of
co-writing or to just sit andtalk and be a close friend.
He once said some days youwrite something nobody will ever
hear, and then one day youwrite Jesus, take the wheel.
That's the job, that's thebeauty.
(08:02):
Last night I got a text from afriend in the industry and the
only thing I could think wasthis isn't real.
Brett and I talked about flyingtogether a lot for years.
We never got to do that.
We never got to take thatchance, but we shared the
passion of being pilots and andhe was a good one.
(08:25):
Um, when I got the news, uh, Ijust was in disbelief.
I couldn't believe it.
I immediately called mypublicist.
When I heard my publicist, whenI heard, and then I guess
around 745 last night, my phonestarted flooding from friends
(08:47):
asking if this was true.
I called Chris DiStefano and assoon as he picked up the phone,
we both just cried together andhad no words.
I talked to Lee Thomas Miller,who said he was staring at a
blank screen trying to write astatement for NSAI, but none of
us could find the words.
Jody Messina and I criedtogether in disbelief and pain,
(09:10):
neither of us finding the words.
On September 18th 2025,nashville lost Brett James.
In 2025, nashville lost BrettJames.
He died in a small plane crashin Macon County, north Carolina.
He was 57 years old.
(09:31):
Social media was blowing up asour town heard the news, in
shock, tears, silence.
This was one that stings reallybad, from Carrie Underwood to
Kenny Chesney to Dierks Bentleyand our songwriting community
here in Nashville.
Tributes poured in.
He wasn't just one of myfavorite songwriters.
(09:53):
He was a brother, a guy Ilooked up to, a friend, a family
man, a genuine guy Gone way toosoon.
My wife was his businessmanager at Ferris Self and More
for a long time.
We had so many great talks,laughs and moments together.
I loved calling him out onstage to play one of my favorite
(10:19):
songs he ever wrote that manypeople never even heard.
That song is called TrueBeliever and I first heard it
when he invited us to his EPrelease party years ago at City
Winery for his EP.
I Am Now.
He released that EP in 2020 andit has been on repeat for me
(10:40):
ever since.
That song in particular was atribute to his daughter, claire.
Even though he didn't set outoriginally to write it
specifically for her, herealized he was, uh, he was
writing it, that you know it, itwas for her, uh, he.
He realized that in the writingroom and he sent her a text
(11:01):
while he was writing it, sayingthat he was writing a song for
her that day, but said you know,he had all four of his children
in mind when he was writing it.
I'm in so much pain today as Ithink about his beautiful family
and his kids.
That song was his way toexpress his unconditional love
(11:29):
and support as a father.
It has the idea of even as sheflies, if she falls, he will be
there as a dad.
I think that's why I love thatsong so much.
And we never we never did ashow where he didn't play it
Cause he knew I'd make him.
I'd make him play it anyway.
(11:50):
What does it mean to losesomeone like Brett James?
It means a silence where avoice once lifted us.
It means songs that will carryon, now more precious than ever.
It means remembering thatbehind every lyric is a person
(12:12):
who believed in the power of asong to heal to and to last.
Brett said if one song I writehelps someone get through a
(12:32):
night, then I've done my job.
Brett James did his job and somuch more.
Nashville may feel a hole today, but his music remains.
His music remains, um, enduring, hopeful, essential, um.
All of those things, um.
I don't play music much thesedays, but um, I, uh.
(12:54):
I want to share a song that Iwrote several years ago.
This was the last song that Iplayed when I got to share the
stage with Brett earlier thisyear, and a song that he loved,
and a song that I hope resonateswith all of us, is we're
(13:18):
hurting right now.
So, yeah, let me see if I canget through this.
Let's see.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Crushed by the weight of broken plans Crawling
through this desert land.
Hard times, they come to all ofus.
But in the darkness we learn totrust.
(14:17):
Why don't you fall into Hishands?
Let Him hold you until you canstand on your own once again.
(14:39):
Why don't you fall into hishands?
We blame ourselves and cursethe sky, waste too much time
(15:05):
asking why, when the reasonswon't change a thing, rest in
the comfort that only he canbring.
Why don't you fall into hishands?
(15:32):
Let him hold you until you canstand on your own once again.
Why don't you fall into hishands?
(15:53):
He holds the heavens.
He holds the earth with thelove of our Father.
He'll hold you when you hurt.
Why don't you fall into hishands?
(16:23):
Let him hold you until you canstand on your own once again.
Why don't you fall?
Why don't you fall?
(16:44):
Why don't you fall?
Why don't you fall into hishands?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
psalms 34, 18 says the Lord is close to the
brokenhearted.
He rescues those whose spiritsare crushed.
I ask everyone to pray for hisfamily, pray for understanding
and peace in moments like thisthat seem absolutely impossible
to find, and share his songsforever.
(17:41):
I love you, brett.
I'm going to miss you, man.
Your voice, your songs and yourbrotherhood will always, always
live on in my heart.
Thank you guys for listeningand I wish that we could have
(18:02):
had him on.
We talked about having him onto tell his stories behind the
songs many times on this podcastand we laughed about getting
our calendars lined up, and samething about going to fly
together so many trips that wetalked about taking with our
families and he and I togetherand and it's tough, it's a tough
(18:30):
loss and we'll never understandit this side of earth, but but
I appreciate you guys tuning inand, yeah, just keep his music
alive forever.
I love you guys.
Hey everybody, this week's episode is a little bit
different.
I wanted to do this one wherewe don't have a guest but we
give tribute to someone who wasgoing to be a guest and a very
good friend.
Today is September 19th and, asI record this podcast, our
(00:23):
Nashville industry was crushedlast night with the news of my
dear friend, brett James, wholost his life, along with his
wife and her daughter, in aplane crash.
As songwriters, we write songs,we get our emotions out and, as
I tossed in tears all nightlast night, I needed to get this
(00:45):
out.
It was just a couple weeks agothat we last spoke.
He sent me a message onSeptember 6th with encouragement
and love, because that's whoBrett was.
In the heart of Nashville.
There are voices you hear andthere are voices that you feel,
and Brett James was one of thosethat you felt.
(01:06):
A man who shaped country musicnot only with melodies and
lyrics, but with gentleness,faith, heart and the belief that
a song could lift a soul.
Today we look back at hisjourney, the songs, the stories
(01:31):
behind them and the man behindthe music, and how the music
world has suddenly become alittle bit more silent.
Brett James Cornelius was bornJune 5th 1968 in Columbia,
missouri.
We shared that Missouriupbringing and we talked about
it often.
He grew up with music in hisbones.
(01:53):
His mom was a classical pianistand his dad a physician who
loved to sing.
Brett himself once joked in aninterview that he said I tried
to be a doctor twice, but Iguess God had other plans.
Brett himself once joked in aninterview that he said I tried
to be a doctor twice, but Iguess God had other plans.
Nashville just kept calling myname and Nashville and our songs
(02:21):
out there in the world arebetter because of Brett
listening to that calling.
He left medicine, left medicalschool and decided to chase
music, and in 1995, he releaseda self-titled solo album.
He had a voice like an angelman.
I loved that voice and he couldhave been an incredible artist
himself, but he decided to chasesongwriting instead.
Brett had something so specialIn a music city.
(02:45):
The songs will always find itsway.
Probably the most defining songof his career was Jesus Take the
Wheel, a song that he wrotewith Hilary Lindsay and Gordy
Sampson.
It became the song that helpedlaunch Carrie Underwood into
stardom.
Hilary once said that theydidn't know if that song would
(03:08):
even get recorded, but that itfelt like it was lightning in a
bottle when they wrote it.
I think that writing sessionstarted with the title that
Gordy Sampson brought in,brought into the table that day.
They weren't even sure what todo with it, but they found the
story.
They found it A young woman, awinter road, a baby in the back
(03:33):
seat and a prayer that turnedinto surrender.
Brett said that they werewriting it and he remembered
thinking that this feels biggerthan us.
It just felt like the kind ofsong that people might need one
day and my brother, we need thissong today.
(03:56):
I don't understand.
I don't understand why thishappened.
None of us do.
That song went on to win twoGrammys, countless awards and
became a lifetime for listeners,to listen everywhere.
Then some other great songs.
(04:16):
There was when the Sun GoesDown, kenny Chesney's smash
summer anthem with Uncle Cracker.
He could talk about that songand how he actually wrote that
one.
In a car on the way home, hewalked in and sang it to his
wife and her response, I think,was something like just simple
(04:38):
that's a hit.
And she was right.
This is proof that sometimesinspiration doesn't wait for a
song, doesn't wait for a writingroom doesn't wait for
co-writers.
It just can strike you betweenred lights and back roads.
And Brett was always thinkinglike that he was.
He was full of life and alwayshad a song brewing in his head.
(05:02):
Just just the kind of guy hewas.
He was always like that.
Another heartfelt song that hewrote was Jessica Andrews', who
I Am.
He wrote that with Choi Burgessand it became a declaration of
(05:24):
identity and belonging.
I heard her in an interview onetime with Jessica where she
talked about the lyrics of thatsong and about how that was her
story, except for the nameRosemary.
Rosemary was Brett's grandmaand that song is a songwriter's
gift To listen and translate andturn life into lyrics.
(05:47):
That's what Brett did.
And then there's the song IHold On with Dierks.
Bentley was written in theshadow of loss, after Dierks
father passed away, and Dierkssaid that he brought in like
scraps of lines for that songand, you know, just brought it
(06:12):
to Brett and he just, he justknew where to go with it.
Brett just took it and he knewwhat to do and he helped Dirk's
turn grief into something thathe could sing and something he
could live, and together theycreated that song about loyalty,
about holding tight onto whatmatters, even when the world
(06:33):
shifts under your feet.
Brett Sir Brett, as he liked tobe called with his brother,
chris DiStefano they wereactually both knighted, which is
a fun story to hear him talkabout.
He loved, he loved telling thatstory and laughing about it.
(06:54):
Sir Brett, the world hasshifted under our feet, man, but
I hold on and I know everyoneelse does too To your songs and
your legacy Through all his hits.
What I remember most about Brettwasn't the awards, it was the
man.
(07:14):
Brett never walked into a roomthinking he was the smartest guy
there.
He walked in asking how can wewrite the best song today?
That humility made everyonebetter.
He was a friend to everyone.
He got to know.
He was candid about failure andpersistence.
He admitted writing hundreds,hundreds of songs that never saw
(07:39):
the light of day.
But he believed in showing up,in faith, in the magic of
co-writing or to just sit andtalk and be a close friend.
He once said some days youwrite something nobody will ever
hear, and then one day youwrite Jesus, take the wheel.
That's the job, that's thebeauty.
(08:02):
Last night I got a text from afriend in the industry and the
only thing I could think wasthis isn't real.
Brett and I talked about flyingtogether a lot for years.
We never got to do that.
We never got to take thatchance, but we shared the
passion of being pilots and andhe was a good one.
(08:25):
Um, when I got the news, uh, Ijust was in disbelief.
I couldn't believe it.
I immediately called mypublicist.
When I heard my publicist, whenI heard, and then I guess
around 745 last night, my phonestarted flooding from friends
(08:47):
asking if this was true.
I called Chris DiStefano and assoon as he picked up the phone,
we both just cried together andhad no words.
I talked to Lee Thomas Miller,who said he was staring at a
blank screen trying to write astatement for NSAI, but none of
us could find the words.
Jody Messina and I criedtogether in disbelief and pain,
(09:10):
neither of us finding the words.
On September 18th 2025,nashville lost Brett James.
In 2025, nashville lost BrettJames.
He died in a small plane crashin Macon County, north Carolina.
He was 57 years old.
(09:31):
Social media was blowing up asour town heard the news, in
shock, tears, silence.
This was one that stings reallybad, from Carrie Underwood to
Kenny Chesney to Dierks Bentleyand our songwriting community
here in Nashville.
Tributes poured in.
He wasn't just one of myfavorite songwriters.
(09:53):
He was a brother, a guy Ilooked up to, a friend, a family
man, a genuine guy Gone way toosoon.
My wife was his businessmanager at Ferris Self and More
for a long time.
We had so many great talks,laughs and moments together.
I loved calling him out onstage to play one of my favorite
(10:19):
songs he ever wrote that manypeople never even heard.
That song is called TrueBeliever and I first heard it
when he invited us to his EPrelease party years ago at City
Winery for his EP.
I Am Now.
He released that EP in 2020 andit has been on repeat for me
(10:40):
ever since.
That song in particular was atribute to his daughter, claire.
Even though he didn't set outoriginally to write it
specifically for her, herealized he was, uh, he was
writing it, that you know it, itwas for her, uh, he.
He realized that in the writingroom and he sent her a text
(11:01):
while he was writing it, sayingthat he was writing a song for
her that day, but said you know,he had all four of his children
in mind when he was writing it.
I'm in so much pain today as Ithink about his beautiful family
and his kids.
That song was his way toexpress his unconditional love
(11:29):
and support as a father.
It has the idea of even as sheflies, if she falls, he will be
there as a dad.
I think that's why I love thatsong so much.
And we never we never did ashow where he didn't play it
Cause he knew I'd make him.
I'd make him play it anyway.
(11:50):
What does it mean to losesomeone like Brett James?
It means a silence where avoice once lifted us.
It means songs that will carryon, now more precious than ever.
It means remembering thatbehind every lyric is a person
(12:12):
who believed in the power of asong to heal to and to last.
Brett said if one song I writehelps someone get through a
(12:32):
night, then I've done my job.
Brett James did his job and somuch more.
Nashville may feel a hole today, but his music remains.
His music remains, um, enduring, hopeful, essential, um.
All of those things, um.
I don't play music much thesedays, but um, I, uh.
(12:54):
I want to share a song that Iwrote several years ago.
This was the last song that Iplayed when I got to share the
stage with Brett earlier thisyear, and a song that he loved,
and a song that I hope resonateswith all of us, is we're
(13:18):
hurting right now.
So, yeah, let me see if I canget through this.
Let's see.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Crushed by the weight of broken plans Crawling
through this desert land.
Hard times, they come to all ofus.
But in the darkness we learn totrust.
(14:17):
Why don't you fall into Hishands?
Let Him hold you until you canstand on your own once again.
(14:39):
Why don't you fall into hishands?
We blame ourselves and cursethe sky, waste too much time
(15:05):
asking why, when the reasonswon't change a thing, rest in
the comfort that only he canbring.
Why don't you fall into hishands?
(15:32):
Let him hold you until you canstand on your own once again.
Why don't you fall into hishands?
(15:53):
He holds the heavens.
He holds the earth with thelove of our Father.
He'll hold you when you hurt.
Why don't you fall into hishands?
(16:23):
Let him hold you until you canstand on your own once again.
Why don't you fall?
Why don't you fall?
(16:44):
Why don't you fall?
Why don't you fall into hishands?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
psalms 34, 18 says the Lord is close to the
brokenhearted.
He rescues those whose spiritsare crushed.
I ask everyone to pray for hisfamily, pray for understanding
and peace in moments like thisthat seem absolutely impossible
to find, and share his songsforever.
(17:41):
I love you, brett.
I'm going to miss you, man.
Your voice, your songs and yourbrotherhood will always, always
live on in my heart.
Thank you guys for listeningand I wish that we could have
(18:02):
had him on.
We talked about having him onto tell his stories behind the
songs many times on this podcastand we laughed about getting
our calendars lined up, and samething about going to fly
together so many trips that wetalked about taking with our
families and he and I togetherand and it's tough, it's a tough
(18:30):
loss and we'll never understandit this side of earth, but but
I appreciate you guys tuning inand, yeah, just keep his music
alive forever.
I love you guys.
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