Sam Rivers, bassist and founding member of Limp Bizkit, passed away on October 18 at the age of 48. Born in 1977 in Jacksonville, Florida, Rivers joined the original band lineup in 1994 alongside vocalist Fred Durst and drummer John Otto, with guitarist Wes Borland and DJ Lethal later coming on board in 1996.
In a video tribute message, Limp Bizkit‘s frontman, Fred Durst, opened by saying, “Sam Rivers, the legend. Truly. Such a gifted, unbelievably sweet and wonderful person.”
Durst recounted how the band first came together as he searched for musicians who could match his vision. He explained, “How I met Sam is I put a couple of iterations of an idea of a band I was trying to make happen in Jacksonville, Florida. I had this idea and vision for this particular type of style and sound, and I couldn’t get it together right. And so I decided, ‘I’m gonna go out and find the right players to do this and bring this thing together.’”
The pivotal moment came when Durst walked into a local venue. “And I’d gone into this little tiny bar/pub where this band was playing at Jax Beach called Pier 7. And there Sam was on the stage with his band, killing it on the bass. And I went, ‘Oh my gosh, this guy’s amazing.’ In my mind, you had to start with the rhythm section, the bass and the drums. And I didn’t know who I was gonna meet first to put this idea together — I didn’t know if it’d be the drummer or the bass player — but it was the bass player. I saw Sam play, and I was blown away. He was playing a five-string bass, too. I’d never really seen someone using a five-string bass. And he was so smooth and good, and he stood out, and I could hear nothing else but Sam. Everything disappeared besides his gift.”
He described approaching Rivers immediately. “And I went up to Sam after the show and I said, ‘Hey, man, you’re unbelievable. I got this idea for this band I wanna do, and kind of threw it out there and told him what I wanted it to be. And he looked at me and he said, ‘Killer. I’m in. Let’s do it.’ I was, like, ‘Oh my God. Well, let’s do it.’ And uh, you know, that’s kind of how things started to come together. I had a bass player.”
With Rivers on board, Durst continued scouting for bandmates. “After Sam and I had been jamming around and messing around for a bit, I started looking around for other players and things, and Sam said, ‘Well, my cousin John‘s a killer drummer. He’s a jazz drummer, and he should jam with us.’ And I said, ‘Well, jazz would be great because it’ll give us that kind of beat we want, that swag.’ And so I met John through Sam and saw that John had the thing — he had it.”
Durst described their early sessions enthusiastically. “So, John, Sam, and I are jamming in Sam‘s garage. I’m playing the guitar at the time and kind of rapping and singing, and I can’t really play guitar well, so it’s tuned to Drop D and I’m one-finger-noodling it and Sam‘s filling it in and holding it up, ’cause clearly I couldn’t. And John and Sam, it was a magical thing, the two of them. And I felt like, ‘This is it. This is it. This is what I’ve been looking for.’”
Reflecting on their creative connection, Durst added, “Sam had this thing about him where anything I could spit out of my mouth — ‘try this’, ‘try this’, ‘do this’ or ‘this’ — Sam could do it and do it a thousand times better than I could hear it in my head. And also Sam and I shared an affinity, a love for grunge music. That’s something that we were both really on the same page about. Sam really loved Mother Love Bone, Alice In Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots, and the whole Seattle grunge movement. And he had this kind of ability to pull this beautiful sadness out of the bass that I’d never heard. I mean, he would play chords. He was just so talented. I can’t explain it. I know I’m all over the place here.”
Durst admitted he was still overwhelmed by grief. “Just thinking about him, it’s so tragic that he’s not here right now. And 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.”
He reflected on the band’s journey. “With Limp Bizkit, we’ve just been on such a journey. It’s been a massive rollercoaster. Here we are just having this incredible moment, man, and it’s going so, so beautifully smooth. And Sam was just really, really happy about it. We’ve rocked stadiums together, been around the world together, shared so many moments together.”
Durst expressed confidence that Rivers left with pride. “And I know that wherever Sam is right now, he’s smiling and feeling, like, ‘Man, I did it. I did it.’ And man, did he do it. What he’s left us behind is priceless. He was such a special person. And Sam was a very private person, too. So the few people who were able to be close with him and around him know what I’m saying to be true. He was a very, very special, genuine person. And when he got on that stage, just that Sam-I-Am, that Sam Rivers came out, and he was a beast. [He was] just an amazing, amazing person.”
He also recalled their youth during the band’s formation. “And when I think back to how I met him and how all this kind of came together, Sam was the first guy that really came in and helped make this dream come true. And he didn’t think twice about it. He was just, like, ‘Yeah, let’s go. Sounds great to me. Let’s do it.’ And I was 25 years old, and he was 18 years old and young and just had all that fire in him and all that talent. And I just knew that I was very, very, very fortunate, very fortunate to have him in my life.”
Durst concluded with gratitude. “And I’m so grateful, so incredibly grateful to have shared part of this journey with Sam Rivers — a huge part of this journey, a huge part of my journey. I’m super, super grateful, and I miss him terribly already. And all the support and love out there I’ve seen online, it’s overwhelming. He really did have an impact on the world, and his music and his gift are the ones that’re gonna keep on giving. And I just love him so much.”
On Saturday, Limp Bizkit confirmed Rivers’ passing in a post on Instagram. No cause of death has yet been shared.
