Brett James

After taking a run at a career as a neo-traditional country singer in the 1990s, Brett James moved behind the scenes in the 2000s, building up a reputation as a hitmaker. His signature tune as a writer was "Jesus Take the Wheel," the post-American Idol smash from Carrie Underwood. "Jesus Take the Wheel" spent six weeks at the top of Billboard's Country charts, its success not only establishing Underwood's career but James', too. Over the next decade and a half, Brett James worked steadily, writing songs for not just country acts -- so many hits, he wound up taking home ASCAP's Country Songwriter of the Year in both 2006 and 2010 -- but pop stars and rockers. Once he racked up a number of number one country hits as a writer, including Brantley Gilbert's "Bottoms Up" and Kenny Chesney's "When the Sun Goes Down," James revived his performing career at the dawn of the 2020s, releasing the I Am Now EP in 2020. The son of a physician, Brett James was born in Columbia, Missouri, on June 5, 1968, but spent part of his childhood in Del City, Oklahoma. Following his graduation from Christian Heritage Academy high school in 1986, he enrolled in Baylor University and upon graduation, he went into medical school. Soon, he witnessed a Steve Wariner concert which inspired him to leave medicine for music. James moved to Nashville in 1992 and eventually landed a contract with the Arista subsidiary Career. He released his eponymous debut on Arista in 1995, but none of its three singles -- "Female Bonding," "If I Could See Love," "Worth the Fall" -- cracked Billboard's Country Top 40. Career folded in 1998, leaving Brett James a free agent, but he didn't immediately sign a recording contract. He signed a publishing deal with Mark Bright's fledgling house Teracel Music; however, despite this connection, he decided to head back to medical school. He continued to write for Teracel, leading him to place "Love Is a Sweet Thing" on Faith Hill's blockbuster 1999 album Breathe. James soon built up a reputation within Nashville as a songwriter -- a reputation built in part on the number one singles "Blessed" and "Who I Am," recorded by Martina McBride and Jessica Andrews, respectively -- leading him to leave medical school for music. He re-signed to Arista, releasing the single "Chasin' Amy" in 2002 and "After All" the following year. Both made the lower rungs of Billboard's Top 40, but he turned his attention to writing full-time in their wake. Kenny Chesney cut James' "When the Sun Goes Down" with Uncle Kracker in 2004, taking it to an extended run at the top of the charts. Two years later, Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel" eclipsed "When the Sun Goes Down," landing Brett James his first Grammy for Best Country Song and assisting his first win for ASCAP's Country Songwriter of the Year. Underwood had another number one with a James song when she released "Cowboy Casanova" in 2009. By that point, James was dipping his toe in production, working on albums by American Idol finalists Josh Gracin and Kristy Lee Cook and helming Up All Night, the 2012 debut by Kip Moore. Facing his 50th birthday, James hunkered down and wrote a bunch of songs with the intent of recording them himself. He began to unveil these tracks in 2020, first releasing the single "True Believer," then the EP I Am Now. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine