I Can See Clearly Now

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"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 (1972), 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.,[1] 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[2] and his approach drew strongly from Marley's reggae style. The instrumental break was played by Francis Monkman on a Moog synthesizer.[3]Template:Better source needed

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 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.[4]

Charts

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Certifications

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Jimmy Cliff version

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Jamaican reggae singer Jimmy Cliff recorded a cover of the song for the 1993 movie Cool Runnings.[17] It was released as a single in October 1993 by Chaos label, reaching No. 18 and 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 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.[18] The music video for this version was directed by Academy Award nominated film director Scott Hamilton Kennedy.[19]

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 (except for the delicate reggae flavors). Already amassing praise at adult formats, track is a good bet for eventual top 40 success."[20]

Charts

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Sales and certifications

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Other notable covers

  • Ray Charles covered this song in his 1977 album True to Life, and his version is considered "stellar" by AllMusic[34].
  • Irish band Hothouse Flowers released their version as the second single from their album Home in 1990. It reached No. 5 in Ireland,[35] No. 22 in Australia[36] and No. 23 in the UK.[37] Much later, in 2016, it featured on the first episode of the Amazon Prime Video series, The Grand Tour, where the band themselves made an appearance on stage.[38]
  • Buffalo Rose and R&B singer INEZ released their cover version as a single in 2021, later named one of the best songs of the year by WYEP-FM.[39]
  • A version by Lee Towers reached the Dutch top 40, charting at No. 19, and was recorded on his 1982 album New York.
  • The French singer Claude François also recorded a version of this song called "Toi et le soleil" that reached No. 15 in Belgium.[40]

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications).
  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie Script error: No such module "webarchive". (Retrieved August 9, 2008)
  9. ↑ August 6, 1972
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ UK Singles Chart Official Charts Company (Retrieved September 21, 2023)
  13. ↑ a b Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 9, 2008)
  14. ↑ UK Singles Chart (1989 release) [1] (Retrieved September 21, 2023)
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/true-to-life-mw0000814559
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

Template:Johnny Nash Template:Jimmy Cliff Template:Toots and the Maytals Script error: No such module "Authority control".

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