Limp Bizkit

imp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. The band's lineup consists of Fred Durst (lead vocals), Wes Borland (guitar), Sam Rivers (bass), John Otto (drums) and DJ Lethal. Limp Bizkit has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and have won several other major awards. The band has sold an estimated 33 million albums worldwide.[1] Formed in 1995, the band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999. Their third studio album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, released in 2000, continued the band's success. The album sold 1.05 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling rock album ever, breaking the record held for 7 years by Pearl Jam's Vs.[2] Following the departure of Wes Borland in 2001, Mike Smith was brought in for the fourth studio album Results May Vary, released in 2003. Borland rejoined the band in 2005 for The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1), but departed again. He rejoined the band in February 2009. Limp Bizkit is due to release Gold Cobra in 2011.

Limp Bizkit was founded in 1995 in Jacksonville, after Fred Durst met Sam Rivers. Rivers introduced Durst to his cousin, John Otto, a drummer in Keystone Heights, FL. The three got together for a jam session and soon after started the band. The trio recruited guitarist Rob Waters and Limp Bizkit was established.[3] The band's first four-track demo, entitled Mental Aquaducts (which were remakes of previously written songs from Durst's previous bands Split 26 and 10Ft Shindig), was recorded with Rob Waters but left the band soon after.

The band's first full length recording Three Dollar Bill, Yall$, was released in 1997 on Interscope. The album fared poorly on the Billboard 200 at the time of its release, although it did sell steadily over time due to extensive touring. It wasn't until the Family Values Tour, the Trail of Tears, and Ozzfest, which helped the album to peak at number 22 on the chart. At Ozzfest in particular, the band made a memorable impression on viewers due to the original set they played on, which consisted of a giant toilet. The band climbed out from the toilet at the beginning of the show, with Durst saying lines during the show such as "We're coming straight to you from the sewer" and "I am a piece of shit and my band is a piece of shit". Borland's outlandish style started making impressions on fans as well.

Although their first released single was "Counterfeit", they rose to fame through a cover of George Michael's "Faith". The song appeared on the soundtrack of Peter Berg's 1998 movie Very Bad Things.[5] Later that year, Fred lent his vocals to Korn's third album on the song "All in the Family". The album featured a second disc, with four remixes of the demo for the song and multimedia featuring interviews between Durst, Borland and the rest of Korn. Another unique idea the band came up with was the Ladies Night in Cambodia tour. Fred had noticed that mostly young males went to their concerts, and wanted more women to come, so they let women in for free at this tour. The tour was a huge success, and many more women would appear at their future concerts.

In 1999, Limp Bizkit found major worldwide success with their second album Significant Other, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and received mostly positive reviews from mainstream media. The album sold 834,000 copies in its first week and has sold over 16 million copies worldwide. The first single "Nookie", was an enormous hit on rock radio, reaching the top 10 in both rock and rap charts. The band followed-up the single with three simultaneously released singles – "Break Stuff", "Re-Arranged" and "N 2 Gether Now" (featuring hip-hop artist Method Man). "N 2 Gether Now" has been cited as an example of Fred Durst's attempt to work for unity rather than rivalry between rock and hip-hop, blurring the distinction between the two genres of music.[6] The album features the songs "Nobody Like You" with vocals by Jonathan Davis of Korn and Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and "No Sex" with vocals by Aaron Lewis of Staind.


Musical style and influences

Limp Bizkit's musical style has predominately been described as nu metal, rapcore and rap metal.[38][39] The band has stated that their primary influences include Hed PE,[40][41] Korn, Faith No More, Nirvana, The Sugarhill Gang, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, House of Pain, Grandmaster Flash, Kiss, Suicidal Tendencies, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, Primus, Tool, Esham and Deftones.


Band members

Current members

Fred Durst – lead vocals
Wes Borland – guitars
Sam Rivers – bass
John Otto – drums, percussion
DJ Lethal – turntables, keyboards, samples, programming, sound development


Former members

Mike Smith – guitars

Session members

Scott Borland – keyboards (1995–2000)
Brian 'Head' Welch – guitars (2002–2003)
Sammy Siegler – drums, percussion (2005)