Animals founder Hilton Valentine dies age 77: Guitarist’s death is announced after topping the charts with 60s hit The House of the Rising Sun
- The guitarist’s death was confirmed by record label Abkco on Friday
- In a moving tribute the label praised the ‘pioneering’ musician for ‘influencing the sound of rock and roll’
- Hilton joined The Animals in the early 1960s when it was led by frontman Eric Burdon
- His famous guitar riff in hit The House Of The Rising Sun has gone down in music history after it topped the charts in 196
Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine has died at the age of 77.
The guitarist’s death was confirmed by record label Abkco on Friday who penned a moving tribute to the ‘pioneering’ musician.
A tribute posted to Twitter read: ‘We, along with all of the music world, mourn the loss today of Hilton Valentine a founding member of The Animals.
Sad news: Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine has died at the age of 77
‘Valentine was a pioneering guitar player influencing the sound of rock and roll for decades to come.
‘We at Abkco have been privileged to serve as stewards of The Animals catalogue and his passing is felt in a truly profound way by the entire Abkco family.’
Currently Hilton’s cause of death is not known.
Hilton joined The Animals in the early 1960s when it was led by frontman Eric Burdon.
His famous guitar riff in hit The House Of The Rising Sun has gone down in music history, and after topping the charts in 1964 the song has gone down as one of Rolling Stone’s greatest of all time.
In a 2006 interview Hilton spoke about his passion for playing the guitar from a young age.
He told Modern Guitars magazine: ‘What drew me to the guitar was seeing Lonnie Donegan doing Rock Island Line on television, on a show called The Six Five Special.
‘I wanted to play guitar after seeing that, and of course, after hearing Chuck Berry and seeing him do the duck walk.’