Today I’m giving you some interesting facts about Limp Bizkit. I first got introduced to them in the late 1990s (thanks to MTV finally being available in South Africa on DSTV).
I must admit that without a doubt Re-arranged is my favorite Limp Bizkit song. I have listened to all of their albums, but their 2nd album Significant Other is still my favorite.
Other songs by them that have brought joy to my eardrums by Limp Bizkit include “Shotgun”, “Nookie”, “Take a look around”, “Break Stuff”, “My Way”, “Rollin'” and “Show Me What You Got”.
Here are 20 interesting facts you might not have known about Limp Bizkit:
1. Limp Bizkit was formed in 1994 in Jacksonville, Florida in the United States.
2. The current members of the band are Fred Durst, John Otto, Sam Rivers, Wes Borland and DJ Lethal.
3. The former members of Limp Bizkit are Rob Waters, Terry Balsamo and Mike Smith.
4. The band has sold more than 40 million records worldwide. They’ve released 6 studio albums to date. Their 2000 album Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water sold 1.05 million copies in its first week of release.
5. Limp Bizkit have been nominated for 3 Grammy Awards over the years. They’ve won 1 American Music Award, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, 1 Billboard Music Award, 1 Billboard Music Video Award and various others.
6. Leor Dimant (also known as DJ Lethal) was born in the Soviet Union and was also a member of House of Pain.
7. Wes Borland was the live guitarist for Marilyn Manson for 2 shows in 2008.
8. Fred Durst was in the US Navy and a tattoo artist before Limp Bizkit was formed. He was medically discharged from the Navy after hurting his wrist in a skateboarding accident.
9. In 1999, some critics singled out Limp Bizkit’s performance of “Break Stuff” during Woodstock 1999 as a contributing factor in instigating the violence and vandalism which occurred at the festival.
Wes Borland had this to say to the media about this “OK. Woodstock. Dusty ground for sure, but you’re basing your idea of our involvement there on the media’s slanted view of what happened. We were the poster child, in a nutshell, because we have a song called ‘Break Stuff’. The crux of that whole fiasco didn’t take place until the next day, yet news stations everywhere were broadcasting images of our set immediately followed by the fires burning and fences being taken down 24 hours later. We’re going to have to agree to disagree on what happened there, because my view and the popular view (which basically uses us as the scapegoat and excludes a plethora of additional problems: overpriced vendors, ATMs running out of money, alcohol influenced mayhem, and general mob mentality behavior) don’t match up. We never said: ‘please fight each other, burn everything, and rape.’ We didn’t even allude to it. We did our thing.”
10. Fred Durst is a playable character in the Fight Club video game.
11. Fred Durst is a film director. During the band’s hiatus in 2006, he tried his hand at acting and directing. He has had a few acting roles, including a small role in a couple of episodes of House M.D. and a costarring role in Population 436.
Durst make his directorial debut with The Education of Charlie Banks in 2007. His second film, The Longshots, was 2008.
12. Interscope Records Paid a Radio Station to Play the Band’s Music. Before the release of Three Dollar Bill, Y’all!, the record company wanted to get their song “Counterfeit” on the radio in Portland, so they paid the station $5,000 to play the song 50 times.
It worked, but the choice was quite controversial. Even Fred Durst thought this bit of payola was not a good idea.
13. The band had a Brief Falling Out with Eminem. The famous rapper had been friends with the Florida band before 2000, even making a brief appearance in their “Break Stuff” music video.
However, Fred Durst and DJ Lethal got caught in the middle of Eminem’s feud with Everlast. Eminem ended up dissing them in D12’s song “Girls,” and as well as briefly in his 2002 track “Without Me.”
14. Fred Durst Can Be Heard on Korn’s Follow the Leader. He took the place of Cypress Hill’s B-Real. B-Real’s record label would not let him collaborate with Korn.
Durst can be heard trading insults with Jonathan Davis on the track “All in the Family.” Davis has also appeared in a handful of Limp Bizkit’s videos, since the two of them are close friends. Durst was featured also featured on a song on Soulfly’s debut album.
15. The band got their start by covering George Michael. Their first single was a cover of George Michael’s “Faith,” which was featured on their debut album.
Their version contains sung verses and a screamed chorus. The band made the song their own and showed the world just what they are about. Borland has noted that George Michael does not approve of the cover.
16. Their Big Break was Opening for Korn. Durst met the band while they were in town for a show. He had asked if he could hang out backstage and tattoo them. A persuasive A&R man, Durst was able to get Fieldy to listen to his demo.
Korn was impressed enough that they invited the unsigned band to open for them on two tours. The tours opened the band up to new audiences and afforded them the opportunity to sign a record deal with Interscope Records imprint.
17. The band’s name is Meant to Turn People Off. When coming up with a name, they wanted to choose something that would put people off and make them think the band was terrible. “Limp Bizkit” is not even the most jarring name they came up with. They could have been named Split “D***slit” or “Blood Fart.”
18. Wes Borland’s Contact Lenses Are Made by the Same Company Who Made Costumes for Babylon 5. Besides his incredible guitar skills, Borland is also known for his onstage costumes. In particular, he wears black contacts that make his eyes look vacant.
19. Their second album, Significant Other, sold over 7 million copies in the USA. They knocked the Backstreet Boys off the top spot in 1999.
20. They had two #1 albums in the USA, but no Top 40 hits. This division between chart success and album sales demonstrates how the band was ignored by radio stations despite their popularity (airplay is a criteria for the Billboard Hot 100).
21. Still Sucks is Limp Bizkit’s sixth studio album, released on October 31, 2021, by Suretone Records. Although the album’s creation commenced in 2012, it encountered prolonged delays, remaining in development hell for nine years. The lead single, “Dad Vibes,” was unveiled at the end of a Lollapalooza performance on August 2, 2021, and officially dropped on September 30, 2021. This marked the band’s first release of new material in seven years.
22. In a scene from the 2022 film Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik and Idris Elba’s Knuckles engage in banter, with Robotnik likening Knuckles to the perceived uselessness of a “Limp Bizkit backstage pass.”
There you have it, 22 interesting you might not have known about Limp Bizkit. If you have something you can add to this list, please comment on this post and let our readers know. Feedback is appreciated and welcome here.
This is the music video for the Limp Bizkit song Re-Arranged (which is taken from the album Significant Other):
Looking for more facts? Check out this post featuring interesting 1990s Music Facts.
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