Around this time, Ford was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for murder and served on a chain gang.

Hodgkinson observed that Ford could not explain his technique: he had simply worked out a way of playing that sounded like the guitarists he admired, including Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

Their collaboration was originally intended as a one-off event with Ford looking for backing musicians at the Deep Blues Festival in Minnesota.

Despite experiencing difficulty with the mobility of his right hand, Ford played several more shows with GravelRoad that year, culminating with an appearance at the Pickathon Festival.

GravelRoad backed Ford on his 2010 and 2011 albums, The Ladies Man and Taledragger, both of which were released on Alive Naturalsound Records.

[10] Despite his declining health, Ford performed at that year's King Biscuit Blues Festival in October.

On July 16, 2013, Fat Possum announced that Ford had died at home in Greenville due to respiratory failure after a prolonged illness.