I Can See Clearly Now


"I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash. It was the lead single from his twelfth album, I Can See Clearly Now and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972, reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box charts. It also reached No. 1 in Canada and South Africa. The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years, including a hit version by Lee Towers that reached No. 19 in the Dutch Top 40 in 1982 and another recorded by Jimmy Cliff for the motion picture soundtrack of Cool Runnings that peaked at No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1993.

Writing and recording

After Nash wrote and composed the original version, he recorded it in London with members of the Fabulous Five Inc., and produced it himself. The song's arrangements and style are both heavily laced with reggae influences, as Nash had earlier collaborated with Bob Marley and his approach drew strongly from Marley's reggae style. The instrumental break was played by Francis Monkman on a Moog synthesizer.

Chart performance

After making modest chart advances for a month, the RIAA-certified gold single unexpectedly took only two weeks to vault from No. 20 to No. 5 to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on November 4, 1972, remaining atop this chart for four weeks, and also spent the same four weeks atop the adult contemporary chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
UK Singles 54

Jimmy Cliff version

Jamaican reggae singer Jimmy Cliff recorded a cover of the song for the 1993 movie Cool Runnings. It was released as a single in October 1993 by Chaos Records, reaching No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, the song reached No. 1 in France, Iceland and New Zealand. In 2005, after the song was used as the opening theme for the Japanese television drama series Engine, it was released in Japan and peaked at No. 45 on the Oricon chart. The music video for this version was directed by film director Scott Hamilton Kennedy.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "Cliff manages to breathe freshness into this oft-covered pop nugget. His laid-back vocal is matched by a relatively faithful arrangement. Already amassing praise at adult formats, track is a good bet for eventual top 40 success."

Other notable covers