I Can See Clearly Now
1972 reggae/soul song by Johnny Nash
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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 version by Jimmy Cliff for the motion picture soundtrack of Cool Runnings that peaked at No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1993.
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| "I Can See Clearly Now" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Johnny Nash | ||||
| from the album I Can See Clearly Now | ||||
| B-side | "How Good It Is" | |||
| Released | June 23, 1972[citation needed] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:45 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter | Johnny Nash | |||
| Producer | Johnny Nash | |||
| Johnny Nash singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "I Can See Clearly Now" on YouTube | ||||
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][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 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.[4]
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Jimmy Cliff version
| "I Can See Clearly Now" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Jimmy Cliff | ||||
| from the album Cool Runnings: Music from the Motion Picture | ||||
| B-side | "Sweet Jamaica" by Tony Rebel | |||
| Released | October 1993 | |||
| Genre | Pop-reggae | |||
| Length | 3:16 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter | Johnny Nash | |||
| Producer | Paul Henton | |||
| Jimmy Cliff singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "I Can See Clearly Now" on YouTube | ||||
Jamaican reggae singer Jimmy Cliff recorded a cover of the song for the 1993 movie Cool Runnings.[22] 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.[23] The music video for this version was directed by film director Scott Hamilton Kennedy.[24]
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."[25]
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1993–1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[26] | 17 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[27] | 32 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[28] | 16 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[29] | 26 |
| Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[30] | 9 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[31] | 18 |
| Europe (European AC Radio)[32] | 11 |
| Europe (European Dance Radio)[33] | 18 |
| Europe (European Hit Radio)[34] | 15 |
| France (SNEP)[35] | 1 |
| Germany (GfK)[36] | 52 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[37] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[38] | 39 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[39] | 1 |
| Scotland Singles (OCC)[40] | 26 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[41] | 23 |
| UK Airplay (Music Week)[42] | 6 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[43] | 18 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[44] | 9 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[45] | 98 |
| US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[46] | 7 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[47] | 14 |
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | October 1993 |
|
|
[58] |
| Australia | January 10, 1994 |
|
Columbia | [59] |
| Japan | June 1, 2005 | CD | Sony Int'l | [23] |
Other notable covers
- Ray Charles covered this song in his 1977 album True to Life.[60]
- Irish band Hothouse Flowers released their version as the second single from their album Home in 1990. It reached No. 5 in Ireland,[61] No. 22 in Australia[62] and No. 23 in the UK.[63] 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.[64]
- 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.[65]
- 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.[66]
- Neil Finn covered the song in 1998 for the film Antz and it later was released as a single in 1999.