Obituary: Commodores bassist Ronald LaPread, who died in Auckland aged 76
Ronald LaPread, former bassist for the Grammy-winning, multi-million-selling Motown act The Commodores, died suddenly in Auckland on Saturday, May 30.
A New Zealand resident for 40 years since leaving the band in 1986, LaPread was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on September 4, 1949.
His distinct, prominent bass-playing helped propel the Commodores to the top of global charts during their peak years between 1974-1985, making them one of the biggest American R&B bands of the 20th century.
Best known as the co-writer and driving force behind the band’s perennial funk classic Brick House (US No 5, 1977), LaPread was equally adept at ballads like the Commodores’ twin US chart-toppers Three Times A Lady (1978) and Still (1979). And whether it was a country-R&B hybrid like Easy (US No 4, 1977), a gospel staple like Jesus Is Love (1980), the gritty funk of I Feel Sanctified (US R&B No 12, 1974), or the radio-ready dance-pop of Lady You Bring Me Up (US No 8, 1981), LaPread’s bass was always a crucial sonic building block for an ensemble as versatile as any Berry Gordy’s Motown label produced.
The great-grandson of a slave, LaPread’s formative years in Tuskegee came during the tumult of the Civil Rights era in the 1960s. Tuskegee was a proudly black town with generations of educated, prominent families, lying right in the epicentre of America’s segregated South. Inspired by a chance meeting with Dr Martin Luther King jnr while a teenager, LaPread marched with King and participated in Alabama church sit-ins. The police spraying of water hoses and use of attack dogs left him shaken but resolute in King’s non-violent message.
Training as an engineer at the Tuskegee Institute, LaPread answered an advertisement to join the Commodores when the band’s original bassist, Michael Gilbert, was drafted to the Vietnam War late in 1969. Famously claiming he was “the best bassist in town”, LaPread got the gig despite never having previously played a bass guitar.
A keyboardist and prior member of his high school marching band, if anything, LaPread’s boast would prove modest. A quick study, within months he would find himself opening for the Jackson 5 at the peak of their mania at Madison Square Garden, and rubbing shoulders with luminaries like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe.
For several years the Commodores toured with the Jackson brothers, with LaPread forming a lifelong connection with Michael Jackson.
Always a popular live attraction with their synchronised choreography and elaborate costumes, the self-contained Commodores established themselves as chart regulars with early hits like Machine Gun (1974, US No 22), Slippery When Wet (1975, US No 19), Sweet Love (US No 5, 1975), Just To Be Close To You (US No 7, 1976) and LaPread’s own Fancy Dancer (US No 39, 1976). But it was the band’s self-titled fifth album in 1977 that shot them into the A-leagues with a seamless blend of blistering funk and soulful balladry. LaPread’s contributions as songwriter to the album – Brick House and the spiritually-themed Zoom – are held aloft as R&B classics to this day.
The global hits – among them Too Hot Ta Trot (US No 24, 1978), Sail On (US No 4, 1979), and Oh No (US No 4, 1981) – continued, but the 1982 departure of the Commodores’ breakout star, future Rock & Roll and Songwriters Hall Of Fame member Lionel Richie, signalled a shift in commercial fortunes. Sensing he was also nearing the end of his tenure, the Nightshift album and its Grammy-winning title-track (US No 3, 1985) restored the band to the upper reaches of the charts one last time and proved a fitting farewell for LaPread.
On his final Commodores tour in 1986, LaPread fell in love with a Persian woman who became his wife, Farideh, on a flight from Sydney to Auckland. Settling in Auckland, they raised two children together, Mark and Soraya.
A champion of up-and-coming local New Zealand artists (many of whom recorded in his purpose-built home studio), LaPread was also a mainstay of the local live music scene. In more recent years he found great joy in making regular guest concert appearances with Richie with whom he remained close. And in October last year, LaPread came full circle by reuniting with the Commodores for the first time in decades at an emotional, sold-out Aotea Centre in Auckland.
Richie spoke fondly of LaPread in his 2025 best-selling memoir, Truly, hailing him as the “best-natured human you’d be lucky to know” and “my bassist for life”.
The Commodores are estimated to have sold in excess of 70 million records. They had 17 US top 40 singles, seven R&B No 1s, two pop No 1s and were nominated for 10 Grammy awards.
Ronald LaPread is survived by his wife Farideh, and his children Ronald Junior (US), Soraya and Mark. He was 76.