Hilton Valentine, founder of guitarist in the Animals, dies aged 77 | Pop and rock

Hilton Valentine, founder of the 60s group The Animals, has passed away at the age of 77.

Valentine’s death was confirmed by the label of the band ABKCO Music, which wrote in a statement on Twitter on Saturday evening: “Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Hilton Valentine on his passing this morning, at the age of 77. “

“Valentine, a founding member and original guitarist of the Animals, was a groundbreaking guitarist who influenced the sound of rock and roll for decades.”

Valentine, from North Shields near Newcastle, founded the Animals in 1963 together with fellow Northeastern singer Eric Burdon, bassist Chas Chandler, organist Alan Price and drummer John Steel.

The band’s most famous song, a cover version of the blues standard The House Of The Rising Sun, topped the charts in both the UK and US in 1964. They then had a string of hits with other adaptations of classic blues songs such as Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood and We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, before the band broke up in the late 1960s.

Burdon paid tribute to Valentine on Instagram by writing, “The opening work of Rising Sun will never sound the same again! … You didn’t just play it, you lived it! Heartbroken by the sudden news of Hilton’s passing.

“We had a great time together, boy Geordie. From North Shields to the whole world … Rock In Peace. “

Valentine’s share of their success has gone down the annals of rock history, with his Rising Sun intro known to millions of aspiring guitarists around the world.

Critic Colin Larkin summed up the song’s dramatic impact in his Virgin Encyclopaedia of Popular Music: “The combination of Valentine’s now legendary but simplistic guitar introduction and [Alan] Price’s shrill organ [Eric] Burdon’s remarkably mature and blood-curdling voice. “