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Kenny Chesney recalls his co-writer, Brett James.
The country star paid tribute to James in a poignant Instagram post on Monday, September 22nd. James was killed in a crash on Thursday, September 18th.
“I don’t want to post because I didn’t want to believe it,” began Chesney, 57. “Brett and I shared a unique bond. Brotherhood. We wrote ‘Reality’ and ‘Last Night’ on the same afternoon, sitting on my pool deck in the Virgin Islands two days after Christmas. ”
“We’ve had a lot of writing songs together over the years, and I’ll miss that.”
Chesney wrote, “It’s difficult for his creative soul to disappear.” “It feels like a part of my creative soul went with him. It will be an eternal blank in my life and creativity. I never knew I was writing songs without him or on the road.”
“Half of the songs on my show are songs he wrote and songs we wrote together, so it’s impossible for me to move forward and do a show that doesn’t think about him.”
The country singer thanked James for “a life-man, a shirtless, tanned troubadour, for your friendship, your songs, and all the laughs.” “Save your seat at the afterparty!
Rick Diamond/Getty
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Chesney also included the lyrics to the 2020 song “Knowing You.” “We were very alive/I was a kid riding a carnival/I held my breath the moment you left me right away/But it was good that I knew you.”
Perhaps the most famous song Chesney and James worked together on the title track of their 2004 album The Sun Goes Down, featuring Uncle Cracker. Other notable songs James wrote for Chesney include “Last Night” and “Closet in the Closet.”
James gave his final interview a week before the fatal plane crash. Hearing this entertainment, James, released on Wednesday, September 24th, raves about Chesney.
“I was well blessed because there were over 40 songs recorded by a man named Kenny Chesney, one of my dear friends and one of my favourite artists at Planet Earth,” he said at one point in the episode that he was a member of the Academy.
He also recalled a special songwriting session of the year after Christmas.
“We have a bit of a reputation for this. We got a bit crazy that night,” James said. “Short story, the next morning I woke up at his house, got my coffee, grabbed my guitar and went to the back deck. I just sat there and spent hours seeing the most beautiful views I’ve seen in my life.”
Eventually, Chesney sticks his head out of the sliding glass door to his room and tells James he “wandered out last night” and decides their experience is the perfect material for the song. A few hours later, the duo wrote their 2009 song “Out Last Night.”
After lunch they worked on a song called “reality.”
“It was fun to do that day. There was no pressure to write songs, there was no pressure to write hits, there was no pressure to do anything other than enjoying each other’s company, making some things and laughing.”
James concluded that it was one of his favourite days of his life.
Kenny Chesney/Instagram
James also spoke about his favourite things about participating in the Nashville music scene for decades. “I always say my favorite thing about being a songwriter in Nashville for over 30 years is the friendship you make,” he said on his podcast.
Carrie Underwood, who James wrote, “Yes, Take the Wheel,” also paid tribute to the Grammy-winning songwriter.
“Brett’s passing leaves a hole in all of us, so I’m afraid it’ll never go away,” she wrote on Instagram. “It will forever remind you that this life is only a moment… We must make the most of the everyday given here on earth. Every day is a gift.”
