Vincent Ford, the man credited with writing Bob Marley’s classic “No Woman, No Cry,” passed away in Jamaica on December 28.
According to Intrepid reporter Brittany Somerset, the songwriter’s death comes after a long struggle with diabetes.
Both of Ford’s legs had been amputated due to complications from the disease.
Ford became good friends with Bob Marley as the two grew up in the Trench Town ghetto of Kingston, Jamaica in the 1960s.
The song “No Woman, No Cry” first appeared on Bob Marley’s 1974 album Natty Dread.
The most well known version of the track remains the concert version off the 1975 album Live!
The song later gained even more international fame with its inclusion on the greatest hits compilation Legend (1984), now recognized as the best selling reggae album of all time.
Although Vincent Ford is officially credited as the sole songwriter of the seminal hit, rumors persist that Marley added Ford’s name to ensure his friend would have royalties for the rest of his life.
Despite the whisperings, Ford went on to write three more songs for Marley’s breakthrough album Rastaman Vibration: “Positive Vibration,” “Roots, Rock, Reggae,” and “Crazy Baldhead.”
After Marley succumbed to cancer in 1981, Ford ran a soup kitchen in his native Jamaica and made no further forays into songwriting.
“No Woman, No Cry” continues to be a popular cover song.
Throughout its 35 year history, the song has been reworked by The Fugees, Sean Kingston, Pearl Jam, Jimmy Cliff, Faith Hill, and Tila Tequila.
Vincent Ford was 68 years old.
