Overview
- LaPread’s daughter, Soraya LaPread, confirmed late Saturday that her father had died and shared a brief statement on social media.
- Local New Zealand reporting says he died in Auckland following a “sudden medical event,” but no formal cause of death has been released.
- LaPread co-founded the Commodores while at Tuskegee Institute, played on 11 of the group’s albums, and contributed bass to hits such as “Brick House,” “Three Times a Lady,” and “Easy.”
- He left the band in 1986 and moved to Auckland, where he lived for about 40 years while occasionally reuniting with the Commodores for performances and attending the 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards days before his death.
- Former bandmates and public figures have issued tributes, the current Commodores recently withdrew from the Freedom 250-linked Great American State Fair, and LaPread is reported to be survived by his wife and children including daughter Soraya.