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

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

Rivers’ death was confirmed by the group, who wrote online Saturday: “Today we lost our brother.”

“Sam Rivers was not only our bassist, he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound,” Limp Bizkit said in a statement. social media post SATURDAY. “He was a once-in-a-lifetime human being. A true legend of legends. And his spirit will live on forever in every groove, every scene, every memory.”

The group has not shared any details about his death.

Rivers’ last social media post was on Friday, in which he shared a “Save The Date” video of Limp Bizkit performing at the Rock for People festival in Hradec Králové, a town in the Czech Republic, in June 2026. Rivers and his bandmates last performed in August at the Leeds festival in the United Kingdom.

In 2015, Rivers left the group after suffering from liver disease, but rejoined the group in 2018.

“I had liver disease from excessive drinking…I had to leave Limp Bizkit in 2015 because I felt terrible, and a few months later I realized I had to change everything because I had very serious liver disease,” Rivers said. during an interview with Variety. “I stopped drinking and did everything the doctors told me. I went through alcohol treatment and had a liver transplant, which was perfect.”

The nu-metal band gained popularity in the ’90s, being nominated for three Grammys. Their hits, including “Rollin'” and “Nookie”, also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Limp Bizkit bandmate and frontman Fred Durst remembers the first time he heard Rivers playing at a bar in Jacksonville, Florida, while he was looking for bandmates to form the band. Rivers was playing in a band at the bar and Durst said he was “killing it on bass.”

“I saw Sam play and I was blown away,” Durst recalled in a video posted to social media Sunday morning. “He also plays a five-string bass. I’d never really seen anyone use a five-string bass… he was so smooth and good and he stood out. I couldn’t hear anything other than Sam… everything was gone except for his gift.”

When he approached Rivers after his performance and told him he wanted to form a band, Durst said the bassist didn’t hesitate.

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

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