LOS ANGELES – American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash, best known for his 1972 hit I Can See Clearly Now, has died aged 80, according to US reports.
The Texas-born pop and reggae star died at his home in Houston on Tuesday (October 6), his son Johnny Jr. told the CBS Los Angeles.
His first chart hit was a cover of Doris Day’s A Very Special Love in 1958. However, I Can See Clearly Now sold over one million copies and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the chart for four weeks, and was reportedly written while Nash was recovering from cataract surgery.
This enduring hit was covered by artists ranging from Ray Charles and Donny Osmond to Soul Asylum and Jimmy Cliff, whose version was featured in the 1993 movie Cool Runnings.
According to his website, he was one of the first non-Jamaican singers to record reggae music on the island.
Nash was born in Houston and started his career in the late 1950s as a singer and actor. He moved to Jamaica in the mid-1960s where he was influenced by reggae music.
Nash also scored hits with his version of Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up” and “There are More Questions Than Answers.”
His son told the TMZ website: "He was a wonderful father and family man. He loved people and the world. He will be missed within his community. Family was his everything."
Nash was married three times and is survived by his wife, Carli Nash, and two children, Johnny Nash Jr. and daughter Monica. – AFP, October 7, 2020
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