Carrie Underwood pays tribute to her late friend and collaborator Brett James, ‘the epitome of cool’

Brett James and Carrie Underwood at the induction ceremony for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021. Bev Moser/Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

Carrie Underwood is mourning the loss of her friend Brett James , who wrote one of her biggest songs.

Grammy-winning songwriter James died in a plane crash on Thursday, according to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame . He was 57.

Underwood and James collaborated on the 2005 hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” as well as her 2009 song “Cowboy Casanova.”

“Some things are just unfathomable. The loss of Brett James to his family, friends and our music community is too great to put into words,” Underwood wrote in a tribute shared on social media on Friday.

“Brett was the epitome of ‘cool.’ I see him in my mind riding up to my cabin