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Matt Roberts Dead: Former 3 Doors Down Guitarist Dies at 38

Matt Roberts
Matt Roberts of 3 Doors Down performs on 'FOX and Friends' on July 29, 2011 in New York City.

Former 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts died in the early hours of Saturday, August 20, of a suspected accidental overdose of prescription pills, his father, Darrell, told TMZ. The musician was 38 years old.

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Darrell told the site that he was with his son just outside Wisconsin, where the rocker was scheduled to perform at a charity event. Detectives woke Darrell up at the pair’s hotel — they had adjoining rooms — around 9 a.m. to let him know his son had died overnight.

Matt founded Mississippi rock band 3 Doors Down in 1994 with vocalist and drummer Brad Arnold and bassist Todd Hartwell. They released their first studio album, The Better Life, in 2000, and it went six times platinum. The band’s first single off the album, “Kryptonite,” launched them into international stardom. It hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured in Guitar Hero 5 as well as Rock Band Unplugged.

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3 Doors Down’s album sales in the U.S. alone for their five albums released through 2011 has exceeded 12 million copies.

The guitarist, who also did backing vocals, announced on the band’s website in 2012 that he was leaving the band to focus on his health. “3 Doors Down will always have a special place in my heart and it saddens me to take this time off,” he said at the time. “But my health has to be my first priority.”

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According to the website, at the time of Matt’s departure from the band, the musician had “dealt with health and circulation problems, and those issues have only been exacerbated by performing nearly 300 dates each year with the band.”

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