ABKCO Music’s record label announced Valentine’s death in a statement on Friday, saying it had learned of the death of guitarist from his wife, Germaine Valentine. The statement did not identify the cause of death.
Valentine started playing guitar when he was a teenager growing up in North Shields, Northumberland, the label said. After perfecting her playing skills with other groups, Valentine was recruited in 1963 to form The Animals, along with Eric Burdon, key singer Alan Price, bassist Chas Chandler and drummer John Steel.
The band’s fame reached new heights with its 1964 version of “The House of the Rising Sun”, a traditional folk ballad that had previously been performed by folk singers such as Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan.
But Animals turned the song into a rock ‘n’ roll hit, opening with Valentine’s electric guitar riff. It was a success on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching the top in the UK, USA and Canada. Rolling Stone ranked it 123rd on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
In 1994, the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which called Animals “master performers of existing songs, updating them with a harsh working class and giving them new life.”
Valentine stayed with The Animals for four years and later joined several meetings. He released a solo album in 1969. He has played with several groups in recent years, during which time he lived in Connecticut.
“The opening opposite of Rising Sun will never sound the same!” Burdon wrote on Instagram about Valentine’s death. “You didn’t just play it, you lived it! Heartbroken by the sudden news of Hilton’s passing. We had a great time together, young Geordie. From the North Shields to the whole world … Rock In Peace.”