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Johnny Nash, the pop and reggae singer behind the 1972 hit single “I Can See Clearly Now,” has died. His son John Nash III told TMZ that he died today of natural causes. He was 80.
A Houston native, Nash began his recording career in the 1950s. He grew up singing in the church choir and as a teenager, he broke the Texas TV color barrier with a performance on the show Matinee. He got his break singing on Arthur Godfrey’s radio show, and he released his first singles on ABC-Paramount in 1957. One of his first hits was a cover of Doris Day’s “A Very Special Love.” At the end of the 1960s, he began recording in Jamaica and became friends and a business partner of reggae luminaries Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
His 1968 rocksteady single “Hold Me Tight” became a hit, and later, he recorded the Marley classic “Stir It Up.” “I Can See Clearly Now” climbed to No. 1 when it arrived in 1972. He held several jobs as an actor, and in addition to his recordings and credits as songwriter, he also worked as a producer and label head.