Kenny Chesney is opening up about the loss of songwriter Brett James. A prolific songwriter, James was killed in a plane crash in September, along with his wife and stepdaughter. It’s James who is the writer behind several Chesney hits, including “You Save Me,” “Just To Say We Did,” “When the Sun Goes Down,” and more.
“I’ve lost someone recently, someone that I created with for a very long time,” Chesney says on All There Is with Anderson Cooper. “My friend, Brett James, who was killed in a plane crash a couple of months ago. And it’s been hard because we were brothers, and we were songwriting partners. And we came from different places. But I mean, he wrote so many of my songs. And those that he didn’t write with me, I wrote with him. His creative energy and his creative soul changed my life. There’s a huge part of my show that’s our creative energy. And then all of a sudden that stops.”
Kenny Chesney Recalls Performing “When the Sun Goes Down” After Brett James Passed Away
“When the Sun Goes Down” is one of Chesney’s biggest hits. But now, with the loss of James, the feel-good track takes on a new meaning.
“So the first time I sang one of his songs after he passed was at Farm Aid with Willie Nelson in Minneapolis,” Chesney remembers. “And all of a sudden it hit me. I was going to do a song called ‘When the Sun Goes Down,’ which he wrote by himself. And it was the first time it was really – the wound was really open. It was really fresh, his passing. And I had to go up there and sing that song. And I haven’t had to sing it since. But I’m going to, because I’m not going to let that stop me. It’s almost like in a celebratory way now.”
Kenny Chesney’s Sweet Friendship With Brett James
James wasn’t just close friends with Chesney, but with a lot of other artists as well, including Carrie Underwood and Jason Aldean. But to Chesney, what he’ll miss more than James’s talents as a songwriter, is the close friendship they shared for years.
“Brett was just one of those guys that I thought was always gonna be around,” Chesney says. “And it’s been really, really, really difficult. And it was a moment that really hit the whole town of Nashville really hard. Because he just didn’t create for me.
“I mean, he was a creative machine and a soul and a great guy, and a dear friend. … He was just a brother,” he adds. “And he had a bad day in a plane, and it sucks.”
When news of James’s passing was announced, Chesney wrote a heartfelt tribute to James.
“It’s hard to process his creative soul being gone,” Chesney says in part. “This kind of loss. 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. Half the songs in my shows are songs he wrote or songs we wrote together. So it’s impossible for me to do shows moving forward and not think about him. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but adios Brett James. Thank you for being a lifer, for being a shirtless, sunburned troubadour, for your friendship, your songs and all the laughs. Save me a seat at the After Party.”
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