News broke on Sunday that another beloved musician has passed away too soon.
Fred Alexander, long-time member of funk legends Lakeside, has died, according to a band member.
The lead guitarist of the band “Fantastic Voyage”, Stephen Shockleyannounced the news on Sunday. He showed how Alexander helped the group keep swinging – literally and figuratively.
“Today is a very sad day for our band Lakeside as we have lost Fred Alexander,” Shockley wrote. “The Little General… The backbone of all our records with his locked down drumming… The most driven and persistent man I have ever known… That’s why he became a trustee of our organization… I mean… he could find a gig in the back of a Goodwill… under a rock or buried in the mud… He kept us going, after all it seemed lost about twelve years ago…
“He made sure our taxes were paid… He kept our trademark consistent and up to date… he made sure our plane flights were always taken care of… and he loved his job… But most of all, he was a brother… We rode together through all our albums, all our concerts, TV shows, ups and downs… Until the wheels fell off…”
The guitarist added, “after 49 years together in friendship music and Brotherhood… God stepped in and said, ‘I can take care of him a little better, so hand him over.. I got this…’ Rest in heaven little general… I love you and we all do it with all our hearts Fred… you will be missed.. Those are some little BIG shoes to fill!!!”
No cause of death was announced and Alexander’s age was not publicly available at the time of writing.
Lakeside started in the late ’70s before becoming part of mainstream culture in 1980 with their hit “Fantastic Voyage” from the album of the same name. They also had hits with songs like “Outrageous” (1984), “Raid” (1983) and “Something About That Woman” (1982). They also released a notable cover of The Beatles’ ‘I Want to Hold You Hand’ on their 1982 album Your wish is my command.
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