Sam Rivers, bassist and founding member of Limp Bizkit, dies aged 48 : NPR

Sam Rivers, bassist for rock band Limp Bizkit, has died. He was 48 years previous.

Rivers’ dying was confirmed by the band, who wrote on-line on Saturday: “today we lost our brother”.

“Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player — he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound,” Limp Bizkit stated in a social media post Saturday. “He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of human. A true legend of legends. And his spirit will live forever in every groove, every stage, every memory.”

The band didn’t share any particulars about his dying.

Rivers’ last post on social media was on Friday, through which he shared a “Save The Date” video for Limp Bizkit performing on the Rock for People competition in Hradec Králové, a metropolis within the Czech Republic, in June 2026. Rivers and his bandmates final carried out in August on the Leeds Festival within the United Kingdom.

In 2015, Rivers left the band after affected by liver illness however rejoined the group in 2018.

“I got liver disease from excessive drinking … I had to leave Limp Bizkit in 2015 because I felt so horrible, and a few months after that I realized I had to change everything because I had really bad liver disease,” Rivers stated during an interview with Variety. “I quit drinking and did everything the doctors told me. I got treatment for the alcohol and got a liver transplant, which was a perfect match.”

The nu-metal band skyrocketed in recognition within the ’90s, being nominated for 3 Grammys. Their hits, together with “Rollin'” and “Nookie,” additionally landed on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Fred Durst, fellow bandmate and frontman for Limp Bizkit, remembered the primary time he heard Rivers play at a Jacksonville, Florida bar whereas looking for bandmates to type the group. Rivers was taking part in in a band on the bar and Durst stated he was “killing it on the bass.”

“I saw Sam play and I was blown away,” Durst recalled in a video posted on social media Sunday morning. “He’s playing a five-string bass too. I’d never really seen someone using a five-string bass… he was so smooth and good and he stood out. I could hear nothing else but Sam… everything disappeared besides his gift.”

When he approached Rivers after his efficiency and advised him that he needed to type a band, Durst stated the bassist did not hesitate.

“He looked at me and he says ,’Killer. I’m in. Let’s do it’,” Durst recalled. “I’ve gone through gallons and gallons of tears since yesterday and… I’m thinking, ‘My God, Sam’s a legend….he did it. He lived it.'”

Limp Bizkit’s new single, “Making Love to Morgan Wallen,” topped a number of Billboard charts in September.