Sam Rivers, the bassist and founding member of metal band Limp Bizkit, has died. He was 48.
Rivers died Saturday, the band announced on Instagram. His cause of death is unknown.
“Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat. Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player — he was pure magic,” the Limp Bizkit band members wrote. “From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced. … 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. We love you, Sam. We’ll carry you with us, always.”
Limp Bizkit was founded in 1994 in Jacksonville, Florida, assembled by frontman Fred Durst, who scouted Rivers while he was serving as the bassist for another band, Malachi Sage, and John Otto, who was studying jazz drumming. Together, Durst, Rivers and Otto made their first three set of songs together, and later added guitarist Wes Borland. Turntablist DJ Lethal also went on to join the band.
Across their tenure as a band, Limp Bizkit has released six studio albums. Their second and third records, Significant Other and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, both reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200. The group has also had six songs break into the Billboard Hot 100, and have grown beloved for tracks including 1999’s “Nookie,” 2000’s “My Way” and “Take a Look Around” and 2003’s “Behind Blue Eyes.”
The band has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, including two nods for best hard rock performance and one nom for best rock album, for Significant Other.
Rivers exited the band in 2015 due to health concerns tied to liver disease, but returned to the group in 2018 following a liver transplant.
The band is slated to begin their Gringo Papi Tour on Nov. 29, supported by Yungblud, 311, Ecca Vandal, Riff Raff and Slay Squad.
