Hilton Valentine, founding guitarist of Animals, dies at 77

Hilton Valentine, founding guitarist of English rock and roll band The Animals, who are credited with one of the most famous opening riffs of the 1960s, has died

LONDON – Hilton Valentine, the founding guitarist of English rock and roll band The Animals, who is credited with one of the most famous opening riffs of the 1960s, has died. He was 77 years old.

The ABKCO Music group’s label confirmed that Valentine died on Friday, claiming to have been informed of her death by his wife, Germaine Valentine. The cause of death was not given.

“Valentine was a pioneering guitarist who influenced the sound of rock and roll for decades to come,” the label said in a statement.

Valentine picked up the guitar at age 13 in her hometown of North Shields, in the northeast of England, and then got involved in the skiffle craze – a kind of fusion of American folk, country, jazz and blues – which swept across the UK His skiffle band The Heppers evolved into The Wildcats, a rock and roll group that became popular in the north of England, in part because of the habit of Valentine rolling on the floor playing her guitar.

Having learned her craft, Valentine formed The Animals in 1963 alongside singer Eric Burdon, bassist Chas Chandler, organist Alan Price and drummer John Steel.

The group’s most famous success dates back to 1964, when their rock interpretation of the folk song “The House of the Rising Sun” topped the charts in the UK and US.

The song, whose opening riff has since been a rite of passage for aspiring guitarists around the world, had such a resonance in the United States that many people were surprised to learn that the band came from the center. industrialist from England.

Burdon paid tribute to Valentine on Instagram, writing, “Rising Sun’s opening opus will never sound the same again! … You have not only played it, you have lived it! Heartbroken by the sudden news of Hilton’s passing. “

Valentine stayed with the band for four years and is also heard on other band classics including “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and “Don’t Bring Me Down” .

Valentine released solo work afterwards and returned intermittently to the group, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

In recent years, Valentine has lived in the US state of Connecticut, returning to skiffle music with the formation of her band Skiffledog.