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.
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.
In his later years, Valentine resided in Wallingford, Connecticut.
Hilton Valentine cause of death
He died on 29 January 2021, at the age of 77. No cause of death was released.
The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)
Hilton Valentine on guitar