Overview

• Chesney called James a creative brother and said half the songs in his shows are ones James wrote or co-wrote, adding the loss leaves a permanent void in his life and work.
• The Sept. 18 crash near Franklin, North Carolina, killed all three aboard, and the FAA and NTSB have opened investigations with no cause determined.
• The aircraft was a Cirrus SR22T registered under James’s legal name, and reports indicate he was piloting when the plane went down.
• Multiple outlets have identified the other victims as James’s wife, Melody Carole Wilson, and his stepdaughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson, pending official confirmation.
• James, 57, was a Grammy winner for co-writing Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, and a hitmaker for stars including Chesney, Dierks Bentley, and Tim McGraw.