Vincent Ford

Vincent Ford (10 November 1940 – 28 December 2008), known as "Tata" or "Tartar", was a Jamaican songwriter who received a writing credit for "No Woman, No Cry", performed by Bob Marley & the Wailers, as well as three other Bob Marley songs. However, a dispute arose as to whether the compositions had actually been written by Marley himself, and credited to Ford to allow Marley to avoid contractual obligations.

Biography

Vincent Ford was born on 10 November 1940. He used a wheelchair, having lost his legs due to diabetes. Despite his disability, he was still able to save another youth from drowning when he was a teenager. He ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown.

Ford died at age 68 on 28 December 2008 in Kingston.

Songwriting

Marley had signed a songwriting contract with producer Danny Sims at Cayman Music, and in 1972, Marley and the Wailers were signed by Chris Blackwell to Island Records.

Ford was given writing credit for "No Woman, No Cry" on the 1974 album Natty Dread, as well the songs "Crazy Baldhead" (with Marley's wife Rita), "Positive Vibration" and "Roots Rock Reggae" from the 1976 album Rastaman Vibration, along with "Inna de Red" and "Jah Bless" with Marley's son...

Read full biography on Wikipedia →