As if this year hasn't been a big enough bummer, I learned of the recent death of singer and music executive Johnny Nash. Mr Nash is primarily known for his smash international hit I Can See Clearly Now- because of the song's reggae-inflected sound, I have to confess that I was an adult when I learned that Johnny Nash was born and raised in Texas, not Jamaica.
With his clear tenor voice and teen idol looks, Johnny Nash's first major label single was his 1956 release A Teenager Sings the Blues:
He first charted with a cover of A Very Special Love in 1958:
In 1965, Nash had a hit on the American R&B charts with Let's Move and Groove Together:
1965 was also the year when Johnny Nash moved to Jamaica with his manager and formed a company to market American singers in Jamaica. Upon meeting Robert Nesta Marley, he signed the young singer on with publishing company Cayman Music. As for his own music, he was inspired by the rocksteady scene, recording Hold Me Tight in 1968 for his newly formed label JAD Records:
JAD Records also signed Jamaican music legends Bob Marley, Rita Marley, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, and Jimmy Cliff. Johnny Nash had a hit with his 1971 cover version of Bob Marley's Stir It Up:
My introduction to Johnny Nash, as a boy, was his 1972 international smash hit I Can See Clearly Now, backed by The Fabulous Five, Inc.. It's a gloriously optimistic song, just the sort of spirit lifter we need in these dark and stupid days:
Besides being a singer/songwriter and music executive, Johnny Nash was also an actor, having roles in 1959 bildungsroman Take a Giant Step and 1971 romance Vill så gärna tro.
For his role in promoting and popularizing Jamaican music worldwide, Johnny Nash has had a couple of profiles in the Jamaica Gleaner. His passing elicited a heartfelt proclamation by Jamaican culture minister Olivia Grange:
“The Johnny Nash experience tells a very credible story of Reggae's international influence since its inception. The fact that Johnny Nash and his manager Danny Sims were willing to move to Jamaica to record and produce reggae music meant that they were seeing the true potential of the music. Bob Marley and Peter Tosh wrote several songs for him and they in turn taught him how to play Reggae rhythm guitar. Johnny Nash covered a number of the Wailers' songs. It was a wonderful setup full of young, exuberant talent. Today we see similar connections being made between young Jamaican artistes and other young artistes and producers all over the globe. Jamaica is grateful for his contribution and we know that his legacy will live on.”
As I mentioned at the beginning of my post, as a young 'un, I believed that Johnny Nash was Jamaican, and while I was wrong about the details, I think I was right in an existential sense... Houston and Kingston lost an icon with his passing.
4 comments:
Great post! Kinda blew my mind when I learned Red Red Wine was written and first performed by Neil Diamond.
BTW; I'm trying to calm down everybody in Nashville, in your last sentence - its just a typo!
Thanks for catching that, made the fix.
It is amazing how many cover versions there are of lesser-known songs by huge artists.
Yeah, I was a bit surprised you didn't mention this in your Eddie Van Halen post, because their deaths were announced on the same day. I don't know any Van Halen stuff (don't judge me, I'm old) but "I can see clearly now" will get me smiling and moving on the worst days. Nash was a decent age, but it's always sad when good music makers pass.
I usually don't double up on these posts, because each artist deserves a profile. EVH was a big part of music while I was a youth, and Johnny Nash was a big deal in the Jamaican popular music scene which I adore. I had to give each one a profile/memorial.
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