Hilton Valentine
Hilton Stewart Paterson Valentine (21 May 1943 – 29 January 2021) was an English skiffle and rock and roll musician who was the original guitarist in The Animals. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and into Hollywood’s Rock Walk of Fame in 2001 with the other members of The Animals. Following The Animals' breakup in 1966, Valentine produced several solo albums including "All in Your Head" (1969) and "It’s Folk ‘N’ Skiffle, Mate! ("2004). He also toured New England and participated in several The Animals reunions. Biography. Early career. Valentine  was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England, and was influenced by the 1950s skiffle craze. His mother bought him his first guitar in 1956 when he was 13, he taught himself some chords from a book called ""Teach Yourself a Thousand Chords"". He continued to develop his musical talent at Tynemouth High School and formed his own skiffle group called the Heppers. They played local gigs and a newspaper described them at the time as, "A young but promising skiffle group". The Heppers eventually evolved into a rock and roll band, the Wildcats in c. 1959. During this period Valentine  played a Futurama III solid guitar, this was the UK brandname of importer Selmer, his next guitar was a Burns Vibra-Artiste which he bought in 1960–61. The Wildcats were a popular band in the Tyneside area, getting a lot of bookings for dance halls, working men's clubs, church halls etc., and it was during this period that they decided to record a 10" acetate LP titled "Sounds of the Wild Cats" (sic). The Animals. In 1963, the Animals were starting to form and Chas Chandler heard about Hilton Valentine's wild guitar playing and asked him to join  what was then the Alan Price Combo. Eric Burdon was already a member and John Steel joined immediately following Valentine's arrival. Within a few months, this group changed their name to the Animals. While the Animals are often remembered most for Burdon's vocals and Price's organ, Valentine is credited with the electric guitar arpeggio introduction to the Animals' 1964 signature song "The House of the Rising Sun", which inspired countless beginning guitarists. It was played on his Gretsch Tennessean guitar which he bought in Newcastle in early 1962 while he was still with the Wildcats, and a  Selmer amplifier. Later, in 1964, Rickenbacker gave him a 1964 Rose Morris guitar to use along with a 12-string model. Valentine continued to play and record with the Animals, until the first incarnation of the band dissolved in September 1966. In 1977, Valentine rejoined the group and recorded a reunion album called "Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted". Later career. After he left The Animals, Valentine moved to California and in 1969 recorded a solo album entitled "All In Your Head", which was not successful.The album was produced and arranged by later Animals member Vic Briggs. Valentine then  returned to the UK, and over the years joined several Animals reunions. Along with Eric Burdon, Chas Chandler, Alan Price and John Steel, Valentine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Along with the other Animals, Hilton was inducted into Hollywood's Rock Walk of Fame in May 2001. He released a new album, "It's Folk 'n' Skiffle, Mate!" in 2004. From that release until October 2009 he played throughout New England, New York and South Carolina, with his Skiffledog solo project. As well, from February 2007 to November 2008 Valentine toured with Eric  Burdon. In 2011, Valentine released a new album titled "Skiffledog on Coburg Street" and a Christmas album with Big Boy Pete Miller (ex-Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers) titled "Merry Skifflemas!". Valentine's last recording was "River Tyne", a 2019 video that celebrated the river close to his boyhood home. Personal life. In his later years, Valentine and his wife Germaine lived in Connecticut. Death. Valentine died on 29 January 2021 at the age of 77; no cause or place of death was given. He is survived by his wife and daughter Samantha. Legacy. The Animals' version of the "House  of the Rising Sun" is generally considered to be the definitive version of the song, and was cited by Bob Dylan as one of the reasons why he transitioned from acoustic to electric sound. Speaking of Valentine's opening riff for the song, Ian MacDonald noted that "It is one of the most instantly recognizable introductions to one of the most memorable songs of the 60s. A seemingly simple, but technically perfect execution of an on-going arpeggio figure over a repeated chord progression in A minor, which countless budding guitarists have tried to emulate over the decades, though rarely  with such accuracy and precision."