Two years after the passing of Bob Marley's chief mentor, Mortimo Planno, another sage, who influenced the growth and development of reggae's most famous icon, 'Tata', died suddenly early Sunday morning.

The latest of a distinguished list of personalities associated with the music in one way or another from - performer to producers - who made their transition this year, 'Tata', whose real name is Vincent Ford was more than a mentor. He was given the writer's credit by Bob Marley, for his most re-recorded songs, No Woman Nuh Cry, which has a universal anthem for oppressed women.

Two departed mentors and songwriters for Bob Marley - Mortimo Planno (left), who left us two years ago and Vincent 'Tata' Ford, who died last weekend.

And according to a well-informed source, Bob Marley, in a 1975 radio interview, stated that he had written No Woman Nuh Cry one afternoon at Tata's place.

In the booklet from Bunny Wailer's box set Musically Speak, the Untold Story of the Wailers, a picture of Tata seated in front of his Trench Town home is captioned, "Tata's ranch (Casba) where the Wailers rehearsed."

In an obituary article appearing in the Sunday Observer in March of 2006, prominent reggae historian, Bob Marley's documenter/discographer Roger Steffens, related an experience he had in 2001, when for the first time in Jamaica he gave his multimedia presentation at the University of Technology (Utech) titled The Life of Bob Marley.

He said after he was summoned by Mortimo Planno who was seated outside of the venue, the late elder Rastafari patriach, smiling broadly, pointed to a slender man seated in a wheelchair beside him, "a man who was missing the bottom half of his body", and asked him, "Do you know who dis man is?".

In his response to Planno's question, Steffens replied, "I think so... It's Brother Tata. 'Yes mon', Planno roared.

Then, according to Steffens, Planno demanded sternly, that "Tata show de mon how you dance pon your stomp!"

With great effort, Steffens said, Tata boosted himself on the arms of his chair and wiggled his torso a couple of times before collapsing back into the chair. "See," said Planno, laughing, "Di man du di cripple skank fi you."

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