Country music songwriter Brett James was one of three people killed in a small-engine plane crash in North Carolina on Thursday. 

He's written numerous hits for Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts and Martina McBride, but he is probably best known for kick-starting Carrie Underwood's career with "Jesus Take The Wheel." Over the years, Brett co-wrote almost a dozen songs for Carrie, including "Cowboy Casanova," "Church Bells," "Love Wins," "The Champion," and "Somethin' Bad," a song she recorded with Miranda Lambert. He also had a hand in Martina McBride's "Blessed" and Kenny Chesney's "When the Sun Goes Down." Brett won a Grammy for "Jesus Take The Wheel" and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. He was 57 years old.