LONDON (AP) – Hilton Valentine, the founding guitarist of the 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 label confirmed that Valentine died on Friday, saying his wife, Germaine Valentine, reported his death. The cause of death was not given.
“Valentine was a pioneering guitarist who influenced the sound of rock and roll over the next few decades,” the label said in a statement.
Valentine picked up the guitar at 1pm in his hometown, North Shields, in the North East of England, and later became involved in skiffle fashion (a kind of fusion of American folk, country, jazz and blues). that was sweeping the UK His skiffle band The Heppers evolved into The Wildcats, a rock and roll band that became popular in the north of England, in part because of Valentine’s habit of rolling on the ground while playing the guitar.
After learning her craft, Valentine formed The Animals in 1963 alongside singer Eric Burdon, bassist Chas Chandler, organist Alan Price and drummer John Steel.
The band’s most famous hit came in 1964, when their rock-inspired version of the popular song “The House of the Rising Sun” topped the charts in both the UK and US.
The song, whose opening riff has been a rite of passage for budding guitarists around the world, had such an echo in the United States that many people were surprised to learn that the band came from the industrial center of England.
Burdon paid tribute to Valentine on Instagram and wrote, “Rising Sun’s opening play will never sound the same! … Not only have you interpreted it, you have lived it! Heartbroken by the sudden news of Hilton’s passing. “
Valentine remained with the band for four years and also listened to it in other classics of the band, including “Don’t Let Me Be Malunderserstand”, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and “Don’t Bring Me Down “.
Valentine later released the solo work and returned intermittently to the band, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
In recent years, Valentine has been living in the US state of Connecticut, returning to skiffle music with the formation of his band Skiffledog.