Fred Alexander Jr., Drummer for Funk and R&B Band Lakeside, Dies

Fred Alexander Jr., longtime drummer for Lakeside, sits behind his drum kit in a photo shared by The Original Lakeside - Unfiltered. The group remembered Alexander as “our friend, our family and our band member of over 40 years.” (Photo Credit: The Original Lakeside - Unfiltered/Facebook)

Fred Alexander Jr., the Lakeside drummer whose pocket helped carry “Fantastic Voyage” from the funk era into old-school R&B memory, has died.

Alexander’s death was announced by bandmate Stephen Shockley in a social media post. A cause of death and funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

“Today is a Very Sad Day for our band Lakeside because we lost Fred Alexander,” Shockley wrote, calling him “The little General” and “The Backbone to all of our Records.”

Alexander’s role in Lakeside went beyond the drum kit. He was the drummer, the timekeeper and, later, one of the people helping keep the band’s business and road life together.

Alexander joined Lakeside in 1977, just as the Dayton-born band was moving into the stretch that would define its recording legacy. Lakeside had come through the Midwest funk circuit, early label stops and industry false starts before finding its place with Dick Griffey’s Solar Records, the Los Angeles label that also became home to acts including the Whispers, Shalamar, Midnight Star and Klymaxx.

That Solar run made Lakeside one of the most reliable self-contained funk and R&B bands of its era. The group’s records were not built only around lead vocals or studio polish. They moved because the band could play.

Alexander was part of that engine.

On “It’s All the Way Live,” the band’s 1978 breakthrough, Lakeside turned a stage command into a groove. On “Fantastic Voyage,” its signature record, the group built a party anthem that became bigger than its original chart moment. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart and later found another life in 1990s hip-hop when Coolio used it as the foundation for his own “Fantastic Voyage.”

Alexander’s role also extended into the group’s survival after its main chart years. A 2025 Truth in Rhythm interview described him as Lakeside’s general manager, and Shockley’s tribute pointed to the administrative weight Alexander carried inside the organization.