WACO, Texas — Baylor University is mourning the loss of Brett James, the Hall of Fame songwriter behind country music hits for Carrie Underwood and Kenny Chesney, after he died in a plane crash Thursday, officials confirmed.

James graduated from Baylor in 1991 and died at the age of 57. His sons, Preston and Sam, continue his legacy, having graduated in 2020 and 2021.

James was a member of the National Songwriters Hall of Fame. The organization released a statement on Facebook following news of his death:

"We mourn the untimely loss of Hall of Fame member Brett James (‘Jesus, Take the Wheel’ and ‘When the Sun Goes Down’), a 2020 inductee who was killed in a small-engine airplane crash on Sept. 18," the post reads.

James was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his work writing Underwood

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