Last week the New Zealand Herald published my article about the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Junior. Click here to link to the piece that details my 2016 visit to the site of King’s assassination, the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. If you’re planning a trip to the States and Memphis is somehow missing…
Tag: Ronald LaPread
The Commodores 10 Funkiest Songs
The Commodores in the mid 70s. Today is the 66th birthday of one of the funkiest bass guitarists in history so it seemed like a good time wheel out this little top 10 list. Ronald LaPread was the bassist for the Commodores from 1969 until his departure for a new life in New Zealand in…
The Top 5 Underrated Lionel Richie Ballads
In my attempts to get over being unable to attend last night’s Lionel Richie concert (and mini-Commodores reunion with bassist Ronald LaPread), I thought I’d bust out another one of my “underrated” lists. A few days ago I wrote of Lionel Richie’s considerable funk credentials with a piece about the 10 best Commodores funk songs,…
Commodores Bassist Ronald LaPread’s Powerful Tribute To Nelson Mandela – 1 Of The Commodores Most Inspiring Songs
Nelson Mandela. Last night on The Two on Newstalk ZB we paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, taking calls from listeners for the entire three hours about what the great man meant to them. One of the callers was none other than former Commodores bassist Ronald LaPread. Having grown up in Alabama during the Civil Rights…
Why Aren’t The Commodores In The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame?
At the moment I’m indulging in one of my favourite past-times which is listening to old Commodores albums. For those who don’t know, Ronald LaPread was the bassist in the Commodores from 1969 until his departure from the band in 1986 when he fell in love with an Iranian / Kiwi and moved to New…
Whitney Houston’s Death – Why Are We So Quick To Judge? 2 Of Her Most Poignant Songs
Last night on Newstalk ZB we did a three hour tribute show to Whitney Houston who died yesterday, possibly drowning in her Beverly Hills hotel bath, aged just 48. On the programme we had comments from the likes of Simon Cowell, Tony Bennett, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and Lionel Richie, who said he would speak to…
Lionel Richie Back Onstage With His Old Commodores Buddies
Last night Lionel Richie reunited onstage in Auckland at Vector Arena with two former Commodores, Thomas McClary and Ronald LaPread. By all accounts, the concert was phenomenal mixture of the funk, the soul and the balladry that made these men superstars for the first time in the 70s and I’m gutted I couldn’t be there….
Is Lionel Richie The Nicest Man In Showbiz? Hanging Out With A Couple Of Commodores, November 2007
The exuberant tale of 26-year old Lionel Richie and Commodores fanboy that gets to meet to his hero – three times… One-time-a-Lionel I knew was going to happen. Universal Records appreciated my daily on-air ravings about the magnificence of all things Lionel Richie and had put my name on the pre-concert meet ‘n’ greet list….