{"id":708171,"date":"2026-06-01T11:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/708171\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T11:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:49:13","slug":"ronald-lapread-co-founder-of-legendary-group-the-commodores-dead-at-75","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/708171\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronald LaPread, co-founder of legendary group the Commodores, dead at 75"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ronald LaPread, the bassist who co-founded the Commodores, has died.<\/p>\n<p>LaPread\u2019s daughter Sonya shared the news in an Instagram Story Saturday, writing, \u201cIt is with a heavy heart that I must announce that my Father Ronald LaPread has passed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though she didn\u2019t share any details about his death, the <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/entertainment\/bass-player-for-the-commodores-ronald-lapread-dies-aged-75\/ZIVFA442EVAJ5P3EILYAWQMNSM\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New Zealand Herald<\/a> reported that he died after a \u201ca sudden medical event.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>LaPread was 75 years old.<\/p>\n<p>The musician co-founded the Commodores in 1968 alongside Lionel Richie, Walter Orange, William King, Milan Williams, and Thomas McClary. The band members met while attending the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>After they signed with Motown in 1972, they became one of the label\u2019s most successful funk and soul groups.<\/p>\n<p>Their biggest hits include Three Times a Lady, Brick House and Nightshift.<\/p>\n<p>The Commodores have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>They won a Grammy in 1986 for Best R&amp;B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for Nightshift.<\/p>\n<p>LaPread was in the group from 1970 to 1986. He later relocated to New Zealand, where he had lived for the past 40 years.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Lee, the Mayor of Tuskegee, <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MayorChrisLee\/posts\/pfbid02wYwL75pMTTa2e15T4iiPax19ik57J2dcfU2pxgqjm39PLopjAT1gZeqH3yB9isRYl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">shared a message on social media <\/a>Saturday paying tribute to LaPread.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe City of Tuskegee mourns the passing of Ronald LaPread, legendary bassist of Tuskegee\u2019s very own Commodores and one of our community\u2019s most distinguished native sons,\u201d the statement read. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cRon received his musical start while attending Tuskegee Institute High School and later Tuskegee University, where he helped build the foundation for a remarkable career that would impact music fans around the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis talent, dedication, and success brought pride to Tuskegee and served as an inspiration to generations of young people who followed in his footsteps,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRonald LaPread\u2019s music and legacy will continue to live on for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This story originally appeared on <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/31\/celebrity-news\/ronald-lapread-co-founder-of-legendary-group-the-commodores-dead-at-75\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Page Six <\/a>and is republished here with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ronald LaPread, the bassist who co-founded the Commodores, has died. LaPread\u2019s daughter Sonya shared the news in an&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708172,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-708171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}