A clear inspiration
The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk continues its month-long feature titled ‘Cover Me Good’. It will look at songs covered by Jamaican artistes which became hits.
TWO decades after legendary singer Jimmy Cliff played percussion on Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now, he did his own rendition of the song. Cliff’s version was also a hit.
“It’s an inspirational song for anyone who is feeling down. It lifts you up. I love inspirational songs, and lots of my songs are inspirational. There’s a part in the song where he says, ‘I think I can make it now’; my version says, ‘Oh, yes I can make it now’. I didn’t think; I knew I could make it. It was an affirmation. An affirmation that still stands today,” he told the Jamaica Observer. Nash’s version was recorded at Island Records Studio in London and was released in 1972. Cliff, who had met Nash years prior through his manager Danny Sims, played bongo drums on the track. Cliff’s cover, which was recorded at Mixing Lab studio in Kingston, was produced by Paul “Computer Paul” Henton and released in 1993 on the hit movie Cool Runnings’ soundtrack. Nash, a native of Houston, Texas, died in October 2020.
Cliff decided to record his version as a surprise for his longtime friend. He recalled Nash reacting pleasantly.
“It was special because I was doing a song that I knew very well. On the day I was recording, I remember thinking, ‘when Johnny hear this him supposed to feel good’. When he finally did, he said, ‘I’m getting a lot of royalties’ and we laughed about it. He loved it,” the singer said.
Cliff added that the track is one of his most requested.
“It is undoubtedly one of my most successful singles. When I look at my following on streaming, if it’s not number at number one, it’s at number two. It’s in my top three most popular songs of all time.”
A native of Somerton in St James, Jimmy Cliff began making music as a child at Beverley’s Records with producer Leslie Kong. He rose to international prominence in 1972 with the movie The Harder They Come in which he starred as struggling musician,
Ivan. The movie’s soundtrack includes some of his most enduring songs like You Can Get It
(If You Really Want), and Wonderful World, Beautiful People.
Cliff has won two Grammy Awards for
Best Reggae Album. These are Cliff Hanger (1984) and Rebirth (2012). He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 2003 by the Jamaican Government.