A man who has been described by many as one of the most prolific songwriters in Guyana in the late 50s and early 60s died quietly two Sundays ago from prostate cancer after spending his latter days at the Night Shelter in East La Penitence.
Richard Noble, who was 75 years old when he died, is credited to writing songs for some of Guyana’s best-known singers in those days. In his latter days, Noble was forced to walk around with a bag attached to his body because of his illness.
On January 12 he took ill at the shelter and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died the following day. His body was identified by his cousin, Joan Watkins.
Noble, who actually started out as a legal clerk at the tender age of 19, was drawn to music from a very tender age, which saw him writing songs for the likes of Doreen Gravesande, Monica ‘Lady Guymine’ Chopperfield, and Lord Canary among others.
The song he wrote for Gravesande, “Lovely” while Guyana was still British Guiana became a big hit for both the song writer and the singer. He wrote such songs as “The Greatest Love Story” and “Teenage Waltz” and according to reports the artiste who sang most of his songs was Balladeer Billy Wade.
Wade recorded “Calypso Cha Cha Cha”, “Deep Down Inside of Me”, “What has Faith in Store for Me”, “Christmas is the Gayest Holiday” and “If You Tell Me”.
The late song writer was also one time head of what was known as the Caribbean Artiste Production (CAP). Noble never married and in the latter days of his life the music business in Guyana was so disappointing that it left many who were involved in the music business in trouble, not least of all Noble. The late songwriter hit rock bottom in recent years and had no one he could have called upon for help and when he was diagnosed with cancer he ended up spending the last two years of his life in the night shelter.
Nobel would be laid to rest on Thursday at Le Repentir Cemetery and all his funeral expenses would be paid for by Guyana’s international singing star, Eddy Grant, who knew Noble and who learnt of his death when he was contacted by his brother, Rudy Grant who was alerted by Noble’s cousin.
