Sam Rivers, longtime bass participant and a founding member of Limp Bizkit, has died. He was 48.
The band (Fred Durst, Wes Borland, John Otto and DJ Deadly) revealed the information of Rivers’ demise Saturday night time (Oct. 18) in a tribute to the musician titled “In Loving Reminiscence of Our Brother, Sam Rivers,” in a submit on Instagram.
“In the present day we misplaced our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat,” Limp Bizkit wrote on Saturday of Rivers, who was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1977 and was one third of the unique formation of Limp Bizkit in 1994, alongside vocalist Durst and drummer Otto. (Borland and DJ Deadly joined in 1996.)
“Sam Rivers wasn’t simply our bass participant — he was pure magic,” his band members stated. “The heart beat beneath each tune, the calm within the chaos, the soul within the sound. From the primary notice we ever performed collectively, Sam introduced a lightweight and a rhythm that might by no means get replaced. His expertise was easy, his presence unforgettable, his coronary heart monumental.”
Their assertion continued: “We shared so many moments — wild ones, quiet ones, lovely ones — and each certainly one of them meant extra as a result of Sam was there. He was a once-in-a-lifetime type of human. A real legend of legends. And his spirit will dwell without end in each groove, each stage, each reminiscence. We love you, Sam. We’ll carry you with us, all the time. Relaxation straightforward, brother. Your music by no means ends.”
DJ Deadly left a further touch upon Instagram, writing, “We love you Sam Rivers. Please respect the household’s privateness at this second. Give Sam his flowers and play Sam Rivers basslines all day! We’re in shock. Relaxation in energy my brother! You’ll dwell on via your music and the lives you helped save together with your music, charity work and friendships. We’re heartbroken. Take pleasure in each millisecond of life. It’s not assured.”
Rivers’ reason for demise has not been revealed.
He was identified with liver illness in 2011 and acquired a liver transplant in 2017. Inside this time interval, he took a brief hiatus from his work with Limp Bizkit — however was again with the band by 2018.
Limp Bizkit’s breakthrough got here with the nu-metal band’s 1997 debut album, Three Greenback Invoice, Y’all — that includes their cowl model of George Michael’s “Religion,” which picked up radio airplay and had a music video in rotation on MTV and the community’s then-popular TRL (Complete Request Dwell). But it surely was their 1999 sophomore album Vital Different that reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the primary time, and the set acquired three Grammy nominations — within the classes of finest rock album and finest laborious rock efficiency (for his or her hit “Nookie,” in addition to album monitor “Take a Look Round”). They’d have one other Billboard 200 No. 1 with the 2000 album Chocolate Starfish and the Scorching Canine Flavored Water.
So far Limp Bizkit has launched a complete of six full-length studio albums, with the latest being 2021’s Nonetheless Sucks.
Limp Bizkit not too long ago returned to No. 1 on a Billboard chart for the primary time since 2011. The one “Making Like to Morgan Wallen” debuted atop Scorching Exhausting Rock Songs, Various Digital Music Gross sales and Exhausting Rock Digital Music Gross sales the week of Sept. 27, 2025.

