Vincent Ford

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Vincent Ford (* 1940 in Kingston ; † December 28, 2008 there ), also called Tata , was a Jamaican songwriter . He gained fame as the alleged creator of the world hit No Woman, No Cry and three other songs by reggae musician Bob Marley . His authorship is still controversial today.

Life

Vincent Ford was born in Kingston in 1940 and grew up in a social building on Spanish Town Road in Trenchtown . Due to diabetes , both legs had to be amputated at a young age , after which he was dependent on a wheelchair. Nevertheless, according to a Jamaican newspaper report, he managed to save another teenager from drowning at the age of 14. While Ford ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown under the name Casbah , he became one of the closest friends of the teenage Bob Marley. He fed the teenager, let him stay the night and made his premises available for rehearsals for the first incarnations of the Wailers . Ford lived in close proximity to the Bob Marley Museum until his death and spent a lot of time talking to fans of the music legend.

Vincent Ford died in late 2008 at the age of 68 of complications from diabetes and high blood pressure .

Songwriting

According to an obituary in the Independent , Vincent Ford introduced Bob Marley to the basics of guitar playing . The question of how much influence he actually had on Marley's music and its creative process remains unanswered to this day. Ford received his first songwriting credit in 1974 on the album Natty Dread for the ballad No Woman, No Cry , which became a world hit a year later in a live version. The title allegedly originated in Ford's apartment while the two pondered their youth in Trenchtown. When asked by journalist Vivien Goldman whether he wrote the piece of music, Ford replied evasively. Marley biographer Roger Steffens said that in a little-known interview with the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation in 1975, Bob Marley admitted to having written the song himself while tuning his guitar in the courtyard of Ford's soup kitchen (referenced in the text as "government yard").

“Tata was a man whose mouth spouted founts of wisdom. That song may very well have been a conversation that they had sitting around one night. That's the way Bob's creativity worked. In the end it didn't matter. The point is Bob wanted him to have the money. "

“Tata was a man whose mouth was spewing out fountains of wisdom. That song could very well have been a conversation they (Ford and Bob Marley, note) had one night. This is how Bob's creativity worked. In the end, it didn't matter. The point is, Bob wanted him to get the money. "

- Vivien Goldman

Vincent Ford is also listed as the author of Crazy Baldhead (with Rita Marley ), Positive Vibration and Roots, Rock, Reggae on the 1976 album Rastaman Vibration . After Bob Marley's death, his former manager Danny Sims of Cayman Music led a dispute over song rights against Marley's widow Rita. Sims claimed that after his move to Island Records in 1972, Marley used names such as Vincent Ford's as pseudonyms to circumvent ongoing contractual obligations with Cayman. A jury ruled against Sims in 1987 and in favor of the Marleys. Regardless of contract details, it is considered likely that Marley gave credits to friends and relatives to provide sustainable financial support. Ford is later named as co-songwriter of two pieces by Bob's son Stephen Marley .

Credits

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Stephen Marley

  • 1997: Jah Bless (with Stephen Marley )
  • 2006: Inna de Red (with Stephen Marley)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Steve Leggett: Vincent Ford - Biography. In: Allmusic . Retrieved April 19, 2021 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Spencer Leigh: Vincent Ford: Songwriter credited with composing 'No Woman, No Cry'. In: independent.co.uk . January 7, 2009, accessed April 19, 2021 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Rob Kenner: Vincent Ford Dies at 68; Inspired Classic Bob Marley Songs. nytimes.com , January 3, 2009, accessed April 19, 2021 .
personal data
SURNAME Ford, Vincent
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tata (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Jamaican songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Kingston
DATE OF DEATH December 28, 2008
PLACE OF DEATH Kingston