Samuel Robert "Sam" Rivers (September 2, 1977 in Jacksonville, Florida; October 18, 2025) was an American bassist and founding member of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit.

Rivers began playing music during his high school years. He initially played tuba in the Arlington Middle School band, then switched to guitar. His music teacher advised him to learn bass. Rivers followed this recommendation and played in a jazz band with John Otto at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. At the time, he worked at the Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant, where he met Fred Durst, with whom he and Otto later formed the band Limp Bizkit.

Musically, Rivers was influenced by bands such as Black Sabbath and Megadeth. In 2000, he was named "Best Rock Bass Player" at the Orville H. Gibson Guitar Awards. Because Limp Bizkit was without a guitarist for a long time, Rivers also played guitar on some songs on the album Results May Vary. Rivers also worked as a producer. During the preparations for the Greatest Hits album, he collaborated with two local Jacksonville bands called Burn Season and The Embraced.

Rivers was married to his longtime girlfriend, Kinter Atkins, in 2001. Due to his alcohol addiction and resulting illness, he received a liver transplant in 2017. Sam Rivers died in October 2025 at the age of 48.

Limp Bizkit - Pollution (Three Dollar Bill Y'all $) [HQ]

Limp Bizkit - Counterfeit (Three Dollar Bill Y'all $) [HQ]

Limp Bizkit - Just Like This

 

Tragically young. Never really a LB fan myself but I did like these two tracks:
Boiler

Eat You Alive

RIP Sam

 

Alcohol sucks on every level...

 

R.I.P He died too young

 

@David Brock I wasn't really a fan back then (either), the period from the second half of the 90s to the ~ early 2000s is generally not one of my favorites. The popular US bands at the time like Bizkit, Korn, Linkin Park, Deftones, Crazy Town, Coal Chamber, Mudvayne (etc.) weren't among the music I listened to - retrospectively there are songs that I like now that I'm older, but I don't really listen to these bands today either.

But that's all just a matter of taste. However, I think Bizkit's current self-ironic shows are cool.
I'm sorry about Sam Rivers' early death, my condolences to his family, friends, and fans.

And respect for this (in heavy rain from ~11:00):