Overview
- LaPread’s daughter, Soraya, confirmed his death on Saturday in an Instagram post saying she shared the news with a “very heavy heart.”
- New Zealand reporting, cited by multiple outlets, says he died in Auckland following a sudden medical event, though the family has not released a formal cause.
- LaPread helped form the Commodores at Tuskegee in the late 1960s and played on 11 of the group’s albums, contributing basslines or co‑writing songs including “Brick House,” “Three Times a Lady,” and “Easy.”
- He left the band in 1986 and settled in Auckland, where he remained active in the local scene and rejoined the Commodores for shows in New Zealand, most recently during their 2025 tour and at the Aotearoa Music Awards days before his death.
- Bandmates, Lionel Richie, Tuskegee officials and fans have posted tributes, and coverage also notes the current Commodores lineup recently declined a Freedom 250 Great American State Fair appearance as a separate public development.