‘I Can See Clearly Now’ Singer Johnny Nash Dead At 80
Johnny Nash, who was best known for his 1972 hit, “I Can See Clearly Now,” has passed away.
His son, Johnny Nash Jr., confirmed the news on Tuesday (October 6). He told the Associated Press that his father died of natural causes in his home in Houston, Texas. The singer-songwriter, actor, and producer was 80 years old.
Born John Lester Nash Houston on Aug. 19, 1940, he began performing professionally when he was 13 years old, according to the Associated Press. He scored his first charting song in the late 1950s with a cover of Doris Day’s “A Very Special Love.” Other songs like the “The Teen Commandments,” which reached the top 30, followed.
According to the Associated Press, it wasn’t until he was well into his 30s when Nash scored his breakthrough hit with the release of “I Can See Clearly Now,” which he wrote while he was recovering from cataract surgery. The track went on to top Billboard’s Hot 100 and Adult-Contemporary charts for four weeks and eventually sold one million copies. Despite its success, the song was snubbed by Grammy judges.
“I think I’ve achieved gratification in terms of the people I’ve had the chance to meet. I never won the Grammy, but I don’t put my faith in things of that nature,” he told The Gleaner in 1998. “A lifetime body of work I can be proud of is more important to me. And the special folksy blend to the music I make, that’s what it is all about.”
The song would go on to be covered by the likes of Ray Charles, Soul Asylum, Donny Osmond, and Jimmy Cliff.
His career later took a pivotal turn when he and Danny Sims formed JAD Records. In a twist of fate, Nash met Bob Marley during a visit to Jamaica. He signed Marley and some members of the Wailers to the label, and from there Nash would go on to play an instrumental role in helping launch the international career of the late reggae icon, according to the Associated Press.
In addition to his son, Nash is survived by his daughter, Monica, and wife, Carli Nash.
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