Commodores Co-Founder and Bassist Ronald LaPread Dies at 75

Ronald LaPread, co-founder and former bassist of the Commodores, died at 75.

His daughter, music producer Soraya LaPread, confirmed the death on Saturday in an Instagram Story post. She wrote that she was announcing it "with very heavy heart." No cause was given at the time, though the NZHerald reported that LaPread died after a sudden medical event in Auckland. He had lived in the city for 40 years.

LaPread helped form the Commodores with Lionel Richie, Walter "Clyde" Orange, Thomas McClary, William King and Milan Williams while they were students at the Tuskegee Institute, later Tuskegee University, in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1971 the group was chosen to open for the Jackson 5. They signed with Motown in 1972 and released their first album, "Machine Gun," in 1974.

LaPread stayed with the band from 1970 to 1986 and played on 11 albums. His bass lines appear on hits including "Machine Gun," "Brick House," "Easy," "Three Times a Lady," "Sail On," "Still" and "Nightshift." During those years the Commodores received nine Grammy nominations and won one in 1986 for best rhythm and blues vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus for "Nightshift."

After leaving the group, LaPread moved to New Zealand but kept ties to the band and joined them for occasional shows. In a 2022 interview on the YouTube series "TRUTH IN RHYTHM," he said he still played bass, keyboard and sang every day at his home studio. "I do it every day because that's my joy," he said. "I love it. I believe that God gave me that gift, but I will use it until I can't do it anymore." He added that he hoped to perform with the Commodores again "just for the fun of it."

In October 2025, LaPread appeared onstage with the current lineup in Auckland during the first show of the band's Australia-New Zealand tour. The Commodores posted afterward that the reunion was the highlight of the night.

Tuskegee Mayor Chris Lee posted a tribute on Facebook, calling LaPread "one of our community's most distinguished native sons." Lee said LaPread began playing music at Tuskegee Institute High School and Tuskegee University and that his success brought pride to the city. The mayor offered condolences to LaPread's family, friends, former bandmates and fans worldwide.

The Commodores recently withdrew from a scheduled performance at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., saying they choose not to affiliate publicly with any political party.