"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.
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.Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications).
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1972–1973)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)3Austria (Hitradio Ö3)9Canada Top Singles (RPM)1Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)6Ireland (Irish Singles Chart)Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved August 9, 2008)9Israel (IBA)August 6, 197223New Zealand (Listener)5South Africa (Springbok)1UK Singles (OCC)UK Singles Chart Official Charts Company (Retrieved September 21, 2023)5US Bestselling Soul Singles (Billboard)Billboard [ Allmusic.com] (Retrieved August 9, 2008)38US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (Billboard)1 Chart (1989)PeakpositionUK Singles (OCC)UK Singles Chart (1989 release) (Retrieved September 21, 2023)54
Year-end charts Chart (1972)RankAustralia (Kent Music Report)46Canada Top Singles (RPM)35US Billboard Hot 10047
Certifications
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 (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 Chart (1993–1994)PeakpositionEurope (Eurochart Hot 100)18Europe (European AC Radio)11Europe (European Dance Radio)18Europe (European Hit Radio)15Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)1UK Airplay (Music Week)6US Cash Box Top 10014 Chart (2005)PeakpositionJapan (Oricon)45
Year-end charts Chart (1994)PositionEurope (Eurochart Hot 100)81France (SNEP)11Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)7New Zealand (RIANZ)14UK Singles (OCC)196US Billboard Hot 10066US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)22
Sales and certifications
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United StatesOctober 1993AustraliaJanuary 10, 1994ColumbiaJapanJune 1, 2005CDSony Int'l
Other notable covers Ray Charles covered this song in his 1977 album True to Life. Irish band Hothouse Flowers released their version as the second single from their album Home in 1990. It reached No. 5 in Ireland, No. 22 in Australia and No. 23 in the UK. 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. 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. 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. Viola Wills released an interpretation of the song in her signature Hi-Energy style as a non-album single in 1993 on the independent MFS record label.
References
External links Lyrics of this song