Rumor Mill

JOHNNY NASH, 1940-2020

October 7, 2020

Johnny Nash, who brought reggae to a mass audience with his 1972 hit "I Can See Clearly Now," died Tuesdy of natural causes at home in Houston. He was 80.

Johnny Nash, who brought reggae to a mass audience with his 1972 hit “I Can See Clearly Now,” died Tuesday of natural causes at home in Houston. He was 80.

Initially a pop crooner in the style of Johnny Mathis, he peaked commercially once he ventured into reggae in the late 1960s, scoring with “Hold Me Tight,” “You Got Soul,” a version of Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up” and “I Can See Clearly Now,” a million seller that went to #1 in the U.S.

Nash had his own label, JAD Records, with partner Danny Sims, and in the ‘60s, signed Bob Marley and the Wailers. Nash and Marley collaborated on the ballad, “You Poured Sugar On Me.”

Nash’s last album, Here Again, came out in 1986.