This ad for “The House of the Rising Sun” appeared in the July 25, 1964 edition of Record World in the United States
Hilton Valentine, the Animals’ original guitarist, whose distinctive introduction to the single “The House of the Rising Sun” at the top of the 1964 charts was an important part of the British invasion, died today (January 29, 2021). His death at 77 was announced by his wife, Germaine. Neither the cause of death nor the location was revealed, although he lived in the city of Wallingford, Connecticut, for several decades.
Valentine was born Hilton Stewart Paterson Valentine on May 21, 1943, in what was then Northumberland, England. As with many boys in Britain in the 1950s, the skiffle craze hit him hard and his mother bought him his first guitar in 1956, at the age of 13. He immediately learned alone in a book called Teach yourself a thousand chords and around that time he was orphaned at 16, formed his own skiffle band called Heppers, playing locally in lounges and outdoors.
The Heppers eventually evolved into a rock and roll band, the Wildcats, with Valentine’s best friend, Tappy Wright, on the base guitar. When the group proved popular, they took the next step and recorded an LP of acetate entitled Wild Cats Sounds [sic], which is considered the first and only pre-Animals song recorded by any member of the original lineup.
boyfriends he was known for tearing off his shirt and falling to the floor while crying on his guitar. In 1963, bassist Chas Chandler heard about a wild guitarist from the Wildcats. He liked what he heard and he, keyboardist Alan Price and singer Eric Burdon invited Valentine to join the new band they were forming. Drummer John Steel immediately followed and the five-member band soon changed its name to The animals.
As soon as Animals entered the studio, the guitar took second place over Price’s hook-loaded keyboards. They teamed up with producer Mickie Most for their eponymous debut in 1964. The group began to cover the pattern “The House of the Rising Sun”, with an arrangement attributed to Price. Although Most was initially reluctant to record it, he relented. The song’s introduction features Valentine’s well-known A minor chord arpeggio before Burdon’s snarling vocal and Price’s swirling organ kicks in. The recording was a success, leading the UK charts before arriving in the US as part of the British Invasion. It also conquered America, reaching the first place.
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The following year, the group followed with a single # 8 in the UK, “I’m Crying”, as well as four others that reached the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic: “Don’t Let Me Be Misundersained”, “ Bring it home to me ”,“ We have to leave this place ”and“ It’s my life ”.
The Animals proved to be a popular concert attraction, with Valentine’s friend and former bandmate Tappy Wright as their road manager.
To see they sang “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” in 1965
Hilton played with the Animals until their separation in September 1966. (At that point, Burdon continued with a new line-up labeled Eric Burdon and the Animals.) In 1970, Valentine recorded a solo album that some people classify as psychedelicized folk music, entitled Everything in your head.
Hilton Valentine (Photo: Germaine Valentine; used with permission)
Valentine has met with the Animals’ original lineup several times since their separation. The first occasion was for a charity concert in Newcastle in 1968. In 1977, they recorded the Before we were so rudely interrupted LP. And in 1983, they recorded a studio LP, Ark, which was followed by a world tour and the subsequent biggest hits live, also known as Rip It To Shreds.
In 1994, Valentine was introduced to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Animals. Later that year, he started playing the Animals song again and toured until 2001. In 2001, he was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the other Animals and had a two-night reunion show at the El Rey Theater .
Recently, Burdon, speaking with Guitar International, commented on Valentine’s role in bringing the cutting edge of Animals to the forefront. “It was really Hilton who made the first Animals a rock band, because I don’t think the rock element was in the band until we found it. At that time, Hilton didn’t just play rock ‘n’ roll, he looked like rock ‘n’ roll. Here was a guy with a wisp of greased back combed hair, a cheap leather jacket, black leather shoes, black jeans and a smile on his face playing through an ecoplex, which was a secret weapon at the time. “
To see Valentine plays Animals’ No. 1 single
Since 2004, Valentine has focused on acoustic material, releasing several albums under the name of Skiffledog. He also toured with the original Animals singer, Eric Burdon, from 2007-2008.
Chandler died in 1996 at the age of 57.
In the announcement of the passage of Valentine’s Day on Abkco Records, the label noted: “We were privileged to serve as administrators of The Animals catalog and his death was felt in a truly profound way by the entire Abkco family.”
Best Classic Bands founder / CEO Greg Brodsky won his first professional subscription as a reporter for the weekly music weekly Record World. He still has all his vinyl records and likes to go to the flea markets and garage sales to increase his collection.