Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst has paid tribute to founding bassist Sam Rivers who passed away this weekend.
Rivers, a founding member of Limp Bizkit alongside Durst and drummer John Otto, formed the group in Jacksonville in 1994. His death was announced over the weekend by the band.
“Just thinking about him, it’s so tragic that he’s not here right now,” Durst said in a video posted to Instagram.
“I’ve gone through gallons and gallons of tears since yesterday, and I’m thinking, ‘My god, Sam’s a legend.’
“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. I miss him terribly already.”
The Limp Bizkit frontman thanked fans for the support since news of Rivers’ death broke over the weekend.
“All the support and love out there I’ve seen online, it’s overwhelming,” he said.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
“He really did have an impact on the world, and his music and his gift is the one that’s gonna keep on giving. And I just love him so much.”
The cause of Rivers’ death has not been disclosed by the band or his family.
Y’all, released in 1997, Significant Other, released in 1999, and 2000’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.
Rivers left Limp Bizkit in 2015 with his final album with the group being 2011’s Gold Cobra. Per Loudwire, the musician shared in Jon Wiederhorn’s book, Raising Hell (Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends), that the decision to quit the band was due to long term effects from excessive drinking.
“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 said.
“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.”
