{"id":199968,"date":"2025-10-19T01:03:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T01:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/19\/sam-rivers-dead-limp-bizkit-founding-member-was-48\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T01:03:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T01:03:35","slug":"sam-rivers-dead-limp-bizkit-founding-member-was-48","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/19\/sam-rivers-dead-limp-bizkit-founding-member-was-48\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Rivers Dead: Limp Bizkit Founding Member Was 48"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Limp Bizkit<\/strong> founding member Sam Rivers<\/strong> has died, according to a statement from the band. He was 48.<\/p>\n

Rivers\u2019 bandmates Fred Durst<\/strong><\/a>, Wes Borland<\/strong>, John Otto<\/strong> and DJ Lethal<\/strong> released a joint statement<\/a> on Saturday, October 18, announcing the loss of their \u201cbrother.\u201d They did not specify a cause of death.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat,\u201d Limp Bizkit\u2019s statement read. \u201cSam Rivers wasn\u2019t just our bass player \u2014 he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

They continued, \u201cFrom the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced. His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivers founded Limp Bizkit with vocalist Durst, 55, and drummer \u200b\u200bOtto, 48, in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1994 and he became a mainstay on all of their studio albums. (The trio added guitarist Borland and turntablist DJ Lethal to complete the classic lineup in 1996.) However, the bassist announced he was taking an extended hiatus from the group in 2015 to deal with health issues.<\/p>\n

Rivers subsequently revealed in Jon Wiederhorn\u2019<\/strong>s book Raising Hell (Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends)<\/em> that the long-term effects of drinking alcohol caused his departure from Limp Bizkit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got liver disease from excessive drinking \u2026 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,\u201d Rivers acknowledged<\/a>. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivers eventually rejoined Limp Bizkit in 2018 and remained with the group until his death. In their memorial statement, Durst<\/a> and his fellow bandmates looked back on Rivers\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

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\n Fred Durst and Sam Rivers of Limp Bizkit in November 2024.<\/span> Medios y Media\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe shared so many moments \u2014 wild ones, quiet ones, beautiful ones \u2014 and every one of them meant more because Sam was there,\u201d they wrote via Instagram. \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band concluded, \u201cWe love you, Sam. We\u2019ll carry you with us, always. Rest easy, brother. Your music never ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Limp Bizkit\u2019s turntablist DJ Lethal, 52, subsequently encouraged fans to give the band and Rivers\u2019 family privacy as they grieve.<\/p>\n

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