I Can See Clearly Now
| "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 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 2:45 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Writer(s) | Johnny Nash | |||
| Producer(s) | Johnny Nash | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Johnny Nash singles chronology | ||||
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"I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by Johnny Nash. It was a single from the album of the same name and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was covered by many artists throughout the years, including a 1993 hit version by Jimmy Cliff, who re-recorded it for the motion picture soundtrack of Cool Runnings, where it reached the top 20 at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Johnny Nash version
Nash recorded it in London with members of the Fabulous Five Inc.
Track listings
- 7" single
- "I Can See Clearly Now" — 2:44
- "How Good It Is" — 2:38
- 7" single
- "I Can See Clearly Now" — 2:44
- "Cupid" — 3:30
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.[1]
Weekly singles charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[12] | Gold | 0^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
Chart succession
| Preceded by "My Ding-a-Ling" by Chuck Berry |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Johnny Nash version) November 4, 1972 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations |
| Preceded by "If I Could Reach You" by The Fifth Dimension |
Billboard Easy Listening Singles number one single (Johnny Nash version) November 4, 1972 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "I'd Love You to Want Me" by Lobo |
Jimmy Cliff version
Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff recorded a cover of the song for the 1993 movie Cool Runnings.[13] It was released as a single in 1994, 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.
| "I Can See Clearly Now" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Jimmy Cliff | |
| from the album Cool Runnings (soundtrack) | |
| B-side | "Sweet Jamaica" by Tony Rebel |
| Released | 1993 |
| Format | CD single |
| Recorded | 1993 |
| Genre | Pop-reggae |
| Length | 3:16 |
| Label | Chaos |
| Writer(s) | Johnny Nash |
| Producer(s) | Paul Henton |
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
| Chart (1993–1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[14] | 17 |
| Canada (RPM)[15] | 16 |
| France (SNEP)[16] | 1 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[17] | 52 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] | 39 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] | 1 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20] | 23 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[21] | 18 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[22] | 9 |
| US Adult Contemporary Recurrents (Billboard)[6] | 2 |
| US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[23] | 11 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[24] | 98 |
| US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[25] | 7 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1994) | Position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[26] | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[27] | 66 |
Sales and certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
|---|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[28] | Silver | 285,000[29] |
Chart succession
| Preceded by "It Keeps Raining" by Bitty McLean |
New Zealand RIANZ number-one single January 16, 1994 - February 20, 1994 (6 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Heater" by The Mutton Birds |
| Preceded by "Je danse le Mia" by IAM |
French SNEP number-one single June 18, 1994 - July 2, 1994 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "I Like To Move It" by Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman |
Other covers
The song also appears in various other films, such as Grosse Pointe Blank, The Break-up, Thelma & Louise, Antz, Deep Blue Sea, Envy, Hitch, Igor, Shrek 2's Far Far Away Idol, Viktor Vogel – Commercial Man and Jennifer's Body, as well in a 2009 advertisement for Lipton in the Middle East and Russia. It is also briefly sung by Cheech in the movie Up in Smoke.
It has also been covered by
- Alex E
- Anne Murray (1999 What A Wonderful World and 2001 reissue of There's a Hippo in My Tub)
- Aswad
- Beat Crusaders
- Singers of musical Belles belles belles covered the Claude François' song
- Bobby Goldsboro
- Claude François as "Toi et le soleil", a French version
- Dream Sequence in 1999, as "Clearly", an uptempo eurodance remix
- Dobie Gray
- Donny Osmond
- Doyle Bramhall
- Dusty Springfield (recording unissued and subsequently lost or destroyed)
- Eagle-Eye Cherry for the romantic comedy Over Her Dead Body
- Elsa as "Éternité", (French version)
- Even in Blackouts on The Fall of the House of Even
- Everlife
- Funk, Inc. in 1973 on Hangin' Out
- Geoff Moore and the Distance
- Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1973 on Imagination[30]
- Holly Cole Trio
- Horace Andy
- Hothouse Flowers in 1990 on Home[31] (this version was a #23 hit in the UK Singles Chart in August 1990)
- James Last
- Kaitlyn Maher
- Kermit Ruffins
- Lee Towers
- Liza Minnelli
- Lloyd Green
- Lorie - cover of the French Toi et le Soleil Claude François version
- Marisa Monte
- Martin Kitcher (On the Best Of..)
- Neil Finn in 1998 to raise money for The Fred Hollows Foundation. Finn's version also played in the movie Antz where Z and Bala find Insectopia.
- Petula Clark (1974 Come On Home)
- Procol Harum in concert medleys
- Ray Charles (highest charting R&B version #35 in 1978)
- Richie Havens
- Rick Danko
- Francis Rossi on One Step at a Time (Deluxe Edition only)
- Susan Cadogan
- Screeching Weasel on My Brain Hurts
- Simone Dinnerstein & Tift Merritt on their 2013 album, Night
- Sonny and Cher
- Soul Asylum on After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997
- Susie McEntire
- The Mamas & the Papas
- The Three Blind Mice during Far Far Away Idol
- Toots & the Maytals
- Willie Nelson
R&B guitarist Jonathan Butler recorded a cover from his 2010 album, So Strong.[32]
It is also a perennial favorite for several a cappella groups, including The Coats, The Nylons, University of Oregon's On the Rocks, and the European formation "Klapa Sinj & Ida Ajdukovic".
In November 2002, the song was featured prominently in "The Freak", an episode of the NBC police drama television series Boomtown.
In November 2016, a cover version of the song by the Hothouse Flowers was featured in the premiere episode of British Motoring show, The Grand Tour, causing the song to reach the number 1 position on the iTunes's Top 40 UK Rock Song chart in late-2016.
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- 1 2 Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved August 9, 2008)
- ↑ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved August 1, 2008)
- 1 2 3 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 9, 2008)
- ↑ "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 1972-11-25. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ↑ UK Singles Chart (1989 release) Chartstats.com (Retrieved August 1, 2008)
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Top 100 1972 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1972/Top 100 Songs of 1972". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ↑ "American single certifications – Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ King, Alex P. (2004). Hit-parade — 20 ans de tubes (in French). Paris: Pascal. p. 341. ISBN 2-35019-009-9.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Jimmy Cliff – I Can See Clearly Now". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ↑ "Canadian RPM - Top Singles - Volume 58, No. 24, December 25, 1993". RPM. 1993. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Jimmy Cliff – I Can See Clearly Now" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Jimmy Cliff Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Jimmy Cliff search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Jimmy Cliff – I Can See Clearly Now". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 1994-03-26" UK Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Jimmy Cliff – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Jimmy Cliff.
- ↑ "Jimmy Cliff – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Jimmy Cliff.
- ↑ Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 9, 2008)
- ↑ "Jimmy Cliff – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Jimmy Cliff.
- ↑ "Jimmy Cliff – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Jimmy Cliff.
- ↑ 1994 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
- ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ↑ "French single certifications – Jimmy Cliff – I Can See" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- ↑ "Les Singles en Argent :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ↑ Eder, Bruce. "Imagination". allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
I Can See Clearly Now - Nash
- ↑ "Home". Retrieved 2008-01-22.
Released: 1990 [...] composed by [...] 7. Johnny Nash
- ↑ "So Strong overview". Allmusic.com.
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| Singles | |
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