Ronald LaPread, the co-founder and former bassist of the Commodores, whose deep, propulsive grooves anchored some of the most enduring R&B records of the 1970s and 1980s, has died. He was 75.

LaPread’s daughter, music producer Soraya LaPread, announced the news in a social media post on Saturday, May 30, 2026. “It is with very heavy heart that I must announce that my Father Ronald LaPread has passed,” she wrote on Instagram Stories, sharing a photograph of herself embracing her father.

LaPread died in Auckland, New Zealand, following a sudden medical event. He had lived in the country for four decades, having relocated there in 1986 after departing the band that made him a star.

From Tuskegee to Motown

The Commodores began as a meeting of young musicians at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in the late 1960s. Originally known as the Mystics, the group coalesced around LaPread, Lionel Richie, Walter “Clyde” Orange, William King, Thomas McClary and Milan Williams — six students whose ambitions outgrew the campus circuit almost immediately.

Their break came in 1971, when they were selected to open for the Jackson 5, a coveted slot that introduced the band to national audiences. They signed with Motown subsidiary MoWest the following year, joining a label whose roster was already redefining American popular music.

Tuskegee Mayor Chris Lee, in a statement on Facebook, traced LaPread’s musical roots to his hometown. He wrote that LaPread began his musical journey at Tuskegee Institute High School and continued at Tuskegee University, where he laid the groundwork for an extraordinary career that would resonate with music fans worldwide.

A Run of Hits That Defined an Era

The Commodores scored their first hit in 1974 with “Machine Gun,” a bass-driven, funk instrumental written by Milan Williams. The track climbed to No. 7 on Billboard’s R&B chart and lent its name to the band’s debut studio album that same year.

What followed was one of the more remarkable hot streaks in late-20th-century pop. The group notched seven No. 1 R&B hits, including “Slippery When Wet,” “Just To Be Close to You,” “Easy,” “Three Times a Lady” and “Still.” The last two crossed over to top the Billboard Hot 100 as well, cementing the Commodores as one of the rare R&B acts of the era to dominate both Black radio and mainstream pop.

LaPread’s bass is woven through that catalog — “Brick House,” “Sail On,” “Easy” and “Three Times a Lady” among them. Across his tenure, the Commodores earned nine Grammy nominations.

Lionel Richie left the group in 1982 to pursue a solo career that would quickly eclipse the band’s mainstream profile. The Commodores pressed on, and in 1985 released “Nightshift,” a tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson that became one of their biggest hits. The song earned the band a Grammy in 1986 for best rhythm & blues vocal performance — duo, group or chorus.

LaPread, who performed with the group from 1970 to 1986, appeared on 11 of its albums across those 16 years before stepping away shortly after that Grammy win.

A New Life in New Zealand

After leaving the band in 1986, LaPread moved to New Zealand, where he raised his family and built a quieter life far from the Motown machinery. He never stopped playing.

In a 2022 appearance on the “TRUTH IN RHYTHM” YouTube series, LaPread described a daily routine grounded in music. “I play some bass and some keyboard and some singing. I do it every day because that’s my joy,” he said, adding that he viewed the work as a calling he intended to honor as long as he was able.

He also held onto a hope that he would reunite, even briefly, with his old bandmates. He got his wish more than once. LaPread occasionally joined the Commodores during their tours through New Zealand, and in October 2025, he stepped onstage with the current lineup — including original member William King, Brent Carter, and Walter Orange’s sons Cody Orange and Colin Orange — for a show at Auckland’s Spark Arena.

A Legacy Beyond the Stage

News of LaPread’s death arrives at a complicated moment for the band he helped build. The current Commodores lineup recently dropped out of Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C., though LaPread had no role in the group’s present-day touring operation. In a statement, the band said its music “has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.”

For Tuskegee, the loss is more personal. Mayor Chris Lee called LaPread one of the city’s “most distinguished native sons” and predicted that his “music and legacy will continue to live on for generations to come.”

LaPread is survived by his wife Farideh “Fari” LaPread, sons Ronald Jr. and Mark, and daughter Soraya.