Johnny Nash Dies: ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ Singer Was 80

Johnny Nash (Credit: johnnynash.com)

Johnny Nash, a reggae and pop singer-songwriter best known for the hit “I Can See Clearly Now,” died Tuesday at his home in Houston. He was 80.

Nash had been in declining health and passed away of natural causes, his son Johnny Nash Jr., told The Associated Press.

The elder Nash was born in Houston on Aug. 19, 1940. He began his music career as a pop singer in the 1950s, and topped the charts with the reggae-influenced “I Can See Clearly Now” in 1972.

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His other hits included “Hold Me Tight” and “Stir It Up,” written by his friend Bob Marley. Nash also sang the opening theme song for the cartoon series “The Mighty Hercules,” which aired in the 1960s.

He was one of the first non-Jamaican singers to record reggae music in Kingston, Jamaica, according to his website.

Nash also acted early in his career, and appeared in the screen version of playwright Louis S. Peterson’s Take a Giant Step alongside Ruby Dee in 1959.