THE THANKSGIVING service for songwriter Vincent 'Tata' Ford takes place this morning at the Webster Memorial church. The service is scheduled to start at 11:00.

Ford is co-author of the Bob Marley song No Woman No Cry. He died on December 28 at the Andrews Memorial Hospital in St Andrew. He succumbed to complications of diabetes and hypertension, his family said.

Ford lived in the Kingston ghetto of Trench Town during the 1960s when Marley was a member of The Wailers, a harmony group that also included Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston (later Wailer).

The tenement where he lived with Marley and his family reportedly inspired No Woman No Cry, which is from Marley's 1974 album, Natty Dread.

Ford is also credited as writer of three songs from Marley's 1976 album, Rastaman Vibration. They are Positive Vibration, Roots, Rock, Reggae and Crazy Baldhead.