"I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer

Johnny Nash John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940October 6, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit " I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican artists ...

. It was the lead single from his album ''I Can See Clearly Now'' and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972, reaching number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' charts. It also reached number one in Canada and South Africa. The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years, including a hit version by

Lee Towers Leendert "Leen" Huijzer (; born 23 March 1946), better known by his stage name Lee Towers, is a Dutch singer with international success. He remains as one of the best-selling artists and holds the record for the most concerts performed by a singl ...

that reached no. 19 in the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

in 1982, and another recorded by

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

for the motion picture soundtrack of ''

Cool Runnings ''Cool Runnings'' is a 1993 American sports film directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba, and John Candy. It is loosely based on the true story of the Jamaica national bobsleigh team's debut in competition ...

'' that peaked at no. 18 on the U.S. ''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 Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

influences, as Nash had earlier collaborated with

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

and his approach drew strongly from Marley's reggae style.

Chart performance

After making modest chart advances for a month, the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

-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 Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Jimmy Cliff version

Jamaican

singer

recorded a cover of the song for the 1993 movie ''

.'' It was released as a single in 1993, reaching No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was Cliff's first single to make the Hot 100 in 25 years and is his highest-charting single in the United States. The song reached No. 1 in France, Iceland, and New Zealand. The music video for this version was directed by

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominated film director,

Scott Hamilton Kennedy Scott Hamilton Kennedy (born 1965) is an Academy Award nominated documentary director, as well as a writer, producer, cameraman, and editor. He is the founder of Black Valley Films, a film production company based in Silver Lake, California. H ...

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' 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."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

Other notable covers

*A version by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

was included on his 1977 album '' True to Life'' and in 2021 on the compilation box set '' True Genius''. *Irish band

Hothouse Flowers Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel, and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''People'' (1988), was the most successf ...

released their version as the second single from their album ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

'' in 1990. It reached No. 5 in Ireland, No. 22 in Australia and No. 23 in the UK. * 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 WYEP-FM (91.3 MHz) is a listener-supported non-commercial radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It carries an Adult Album Alternative (AAA) radio format and is run by the Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, along with 90.5 WESA ...

. *A version by

reached the top Dutch top 40, charting at No. 19, and was recorded on his 1982 album New York. *The French singer

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (c ...

also recorded a version of this song called "Toi et le soleil". Singers of musical

Belles belles belles ''Belles belles belles'' is a French jukebox musical written by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Daniel Moyne, based on the songs of French singer Claude François (1939-1978). The musical arrangements are by Carolin Petit. It was the first French jukebo ...

covered the Claude François' song. *

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

also made a version, included in the album Stardust (Willie Nelson Album) (1999 version)

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles 1993 singles Johnny Nash songs Jimmy Cliff songs Hothouse Flowers songs Songs written by Johnny Nash RPM Top Singles number-one singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in South Africa SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Epic Records singles Columbia Records singles