Kenny Chesney kept quiet for days because saying goodbye to Brett James didn’t feel real.
The country world lost one of its greatest songwriters on September 18 when James, just 57, died in a small-engine plane crash in North Carolina. His wife, Melody Carole, and her daughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson, were also on board. The news rattled Nashville, but for Chesney, it was like losing a piece of his own soul.
“I haven’t wanted to post because I didn’t want to believe it,” Chesney finally admitted when he broke his silence. Then he said the words that cut deep, “I feel as if part of my creative soul went with him. It will be a void in my life and creativity forever. I’ve never known writing songs or being on the road without him.”
This wasn’t just another Nashville partnership, it was a brotherhood. Chesney called James his “Brother Of The Sun.” They didn’t just co-write songs, they lived them. “We wrote ‘Reality’ and ‘Out Last Night’ on the same afternoon sitting on my pool deck in the Virgin Islands two days after Christmas,” Chesney recalled. “We had a lot of authentic life fun writing songs together over the years, and I’m sure going to miss it.”
The hits they made together defined an era. “When the Sun Goes Down,” “You Save Me,” “Just to Say We Did,” and “Out Last Night” still make up a huge part of Chesney’s shows. “It’s impossible for me to do shows moving forward and not think about him,” Kenny said. “Half the songs in my shows are songs he wrote or songs we wrote together.”
But beyond the hits, there was friendship. Days on the beach. Co-writing sessions that turned into belly laughs. Late nights that stretched into mornings. Chesney remembered him not as an industry powerhouse but as “a shirtless, sunburned troubadour.” And with a broken heart, he signed off his tribute with the words, “Save me a seat at the After Party.”
For You
Brett James’ pen left a mark that went far beyond Chesney’s catalog. He gave Carrie Underwood her breakout with “Jesus Take the Wheel,” which won him a Grammy. He also co-wrote her smashes “Cowboy Casanova,” “Church Bells,” “Somethin’ Bad” with Miranda Lambert, and “The Champion.” He delivered Martina McBride’s “Blessed,” Jessica Andrews’ “Who I Am,” and countless more for Brantley Gilbert, Dierks Bentley, Tim McGraw, and Scotty McCreery. Twice, he was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
To Nashville insiders, Brett James was the guy you called when you wanted a hit. To Chesney, he was family. And that is the difference.
Chesney wrapped his farewell in a way only a songwriter could, by quoting lyrics. He reached back to “Knowing You,” a song about cherishing moments even if they end too soon:
“God we were so alive
I was a kid on a carnival ride
Holding my breath till the moment you were gonna leave me too soon
But I’d do it all over cause damn it was good knowing you.”
Kenny Chesney’s shows will never sound the same. Every chorus of “When the Sun Goes Down” and every verse of “Out Last Night” will echo with the voice of a man who isn’t here anymore but somehow always will be.
For Chesney, the music goes on, but so does the void.
And maybe that is the truest tribute, because if Brett James left you without a hole in your heart, then you probably never heard his songs.
