The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 427

Number 427

Johnny Nash

"I Can See Clearly Now"

(1972)
.

Genre: R&B

When i first heard this song, i thought it was sung by a woman ..... Do not get me wrong and nor am i being disrespectful to Johnny Nash (always did think it was a funny name for a girl ... however) for a young boy in 1972, well the voice did not sound masculine! So why is this song not recognised by the music historians? For example, Rolling Stone make no mention of this classic song and more to the point have no view on Johnny Nash ... whatsoever! So there is only one thing i can do .... and that is ask them directly. Phone (212) 484-1616 [ringing sound]

CB: " Hello, its crowbarred from crowbarred.com" ....

RS: [long pause]"Oh you again" [even longer pause]

CB: " Right, anyway, I was just wondering what Rolling Stone's view is on Johnny Nash and why ....

RS: "You mean Johnny Cash?"

CB: "No ... Nash, like in ...."

RS: "Oh you mean Graham Nash, from CSNY?"

CB: "NO .. as in JOHNNY Nash the R&B/Reggea LEGENDARY singer. Are we clear who we are talking about?"

RS: "I apologise, we have not heard of her, sorry, we have to go now, Britney is calling" [click]

CB: "ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

I can see clearly

Singer/songwriter/producer Johnny Nash's million-seller "I Can See Clearly Now" did more to bring the reggae music sound into the mainstream than any other single record up to that point. To be sure, there were previous reggae hits (Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop," Desmond Dekker & the Aces's 1969 hit "Israelites"), but Nash's buoyant, breezy, optimistic classic proved to be a phenomenal record holding the number one pop position for four weeks and going to number one adult contemporary on Billboard's charts in fall 1972. Houston,TX, native Nash had been recording in Jamaica for some years before having his biggest hit. On the I Can See Clearly Now album, Nash used members of Bob Marley and the Wailers and recorded several Marley songs: "Stir It Up," the follow-up single, "Comma Comma," the smooth "Guava Jelly," and the Nash/Marley co-written ballad, "You Poured Sugar on Me." The tender album track "(It Was) So Nice While It Lasted" received radio play. Other standouts are the punchy horns-flavored "Ooh Baby You've Been Good to Me" and the lullaby-ish ballad "There Are More Questions Than Answers." It's a tribute to its high quality that I Can See Clearly Now was in print almost three decades after its original release. ~ [Ed Hogan, All Music Guide]

Music and lyrics

Summer must be coming soon?

The song's extremely optimistic lyrics, an unabashedly upbeat tempo in D-major, and a quick, sustained midway crescendo, contrasted against minor key hits popular at the same time, such as "Nights In White Satin," "I'll Be Around," "Witchy Woman," and "Papa Was A Rolling Stone." Nash thus joined Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Rick Nelson as 1950s rock pioneers each having his last Hot 100 top 10 success in late 1972. It is a common misconception that the song was written and/or performed by Bob Marley, possibly based on the fact that The Wailers were the backing band on Nash's original recording. Marley wrote Nash's next single, "Stir It Up". ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

For Bob Marley see Number 482

For Eagles see Number 509

For Temptations see Number 601 & #819

For Elvis Presley see Number 443, #501 & #840

For Chuck Berry see Number 783

Rolling Stone have no view on Johnny Nash "I Can See Clearly Now", which i find amazing, as this song is important in the story of Rock n' Roll and it's history. It is times like this that made me feel Rolling Stone's "Top 500" was definitely amiss and definitively screwy.

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '427th Song of all Time' was "New Years Day" by U2. U2 has appeared in The Definitive 1000 @ #661

For more U2 visit MM Vol 1 #129 & #038

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at (Johnny Cash?) and the Album ranked at Number (Graham Nash?) [^@^$#^*#!]

This song has a Definitive 1000 rating of 77.7 out of 108