Died On This Date (December 28, 2008) Vincent Ford / Wrote Songs For Bob Marley

Vincent Ford
1940 – December 28, 2008

vincent-ford

Vincent Ford was a longtime friend of Bob Marley and is credited as the songwriter for such Marley tunes as “Positive Vibration,” “Roots Rock Reggae,” and most famously, “No Woman, No Cry.” During the ’60s, Ford ran a kitchen in the Trenchtown ghetto of Kingston.  It was called the Casbah and it was where Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh rehearsed in their early days.  Marley also slept on a wooden table there for a while.  It has since become a museum of sorts.  It is believed that in actuality, Marley wrote the Ford-credited songs, but gave Ford the writing credits so he would have income for the rest of his life.  It has been reported that Marley did that for other close friends as well.  At the very least, Ford inspired some of Marley’s lyrics.  Vincent Ford was 68 when he passed away from diabetes and hypertension on December 28, 2008.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.