Howard Campbell, Freelance Writer
Johnny Nash performing at the Charity Ball at the National Arena on December 16, 1968. - File
Trivia:
Johnny Nash was one of several African Americans who got into reggae in the 1960s. Check out the Staple Singers' I'll Take You There; it is a direct spin on the instrumental, Liquidator, by the Harry J All Stars.
A little-known band called the Fabulous Five backed Johnny Nash on More Questions Than Answers, taken from the
'I Can See Clearly Now' album.
Danny Sims said he and Johnny Nash recorded over 300 songs with The Wailers during a five-year period.
The soul man of reggae music
At the dawn of the 1970s, music lovers were tuning into the vibes of a new sound out of Jamaica called reggae. Most of its exponents were Rastafarians or soul rebels who sang about social issues.
Johnny Nash did not fit that profile, yet the Texan became a trailblazer by singing about love and cashed in on reggae's romantic side. It brought him several hit songs and won the music new fans worldwide.
It has been 34 years since Nash's I Can See Clearly Now album was released by Epic Records. The title track, with its happy, uptempo feel, fit right into the hippy groove of the time and raced to number one in the United States and several other countries.
Nash's finest hour
I Can See Clearly Now sold millions and remains Nash's finest hour. But it was not the first time that the former prodigy, had scored with Jamaican sounds, as his Hold Me Tight was an international hit in 1967.
Hold Me Tight was produced by African American impresario Danny Sims and recorded at Federal Records in Kingston. Sims owned a home here and was a business partner in JAD Records (Johnny and Danny) with Nash.
While cooling out in Jamaica, they soaked up the local rock steady and a rebellious new beat called reggae. They also met The Wailers group, which at the time comprised Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Neville Livingston (Bunny Wailer).
Nash and Sims were impressed by Marley's talent for song-writing, and in 1971, Nash struck it big, with his cover of Marley's Stir It Up. The song would later be recorded by Barbra Streisand.
The following year, I Can See Clearly Now became a must-have for disc jockeys around the world. Its success showed that there was more to reggae than dreadlocks and ganja.
As Marley and roots-reggae shot to superstardom in the 1970s, Johnny Nash's career waned although he had some success here later that decade with the soothing ballad, Mr. C.
In 1993, I Can See Clearly Now found new life when Jimmy Cliff cut a version of the song for the Cool Runnings movie soundtrack.
