The band\u2019s biggest hit, „The House of the Rising Sun,“ topped the charts in both the U.K. and the U.S., and featured Valentine\u2019s iconic guitar riff.<\/b>
\nHilton Valentine, the founding guitarist of the English rock and roll band The Animals who is credited with coming up with one of the most famous opening riffs of the 1960s, has died. He was 77. The band\u2019s label ABKCO Music confirmed that Valentine died on Friday, saying it was told of his death by his wife, Germaine Valentine. The cause of death was not given. \u201cValentine was a pioneering guitar player influencing the sound of rock and roll for decades to come,\u201d the label said in a statement. Valentine took up the guitar at 13 in his hometown of North Shields in northeast England, subsequently getting involved in the skiffle craze \u2014 a kind of fusion of American folk, country, jazz and blues \u2014 that was sweeping the U.K. His skiffle band The Heppers evolved into The Wildcats, a rock and roll band that became popular across the north of England, partly because of Valentine\u2019s habit of rolling on the ground while playing his guitar. Having learned his craft, Valentine formed The Animals in 1963 alongside singer Eric Burdon, bassist Chas Chandler, organist Alan Price and drummer John Steel. The band\u2019s most famous hit came in 1964, when their rock-infused take of the folk song \u201cThe House of the Rising Sun\u201d topped the charts in both the U.K. and the U.S. The song, whose opening riff has been a rite of passage for budding guitarists around the world ever since, had such resonance in the U.S. that many people were surprised to hear that the band came from the industrial heartland of England. Burdon paid tribute to Valentine on Instagram, writing: \u201cThe opening opus of Rising Sun will never sound the same!… You didn\u2019t just play it, you lived it! Heartbroken by the sudden news of Hilton\u2019s passing.\u201d Valentine remained with the band for four years and is also heard on other classics by the band including \u201cDon\u2019t Let Me Be Misunderstood,\u201d \u201cWe Gotta Get Out of This Place\u201d and \u201cDon\u2019t Bring Me Down.\u201d Valentine released solo work subsequently and intermittently returned to the band, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In recent years, Valentine has been living in the U.S. state of Connecticut, returning to skiffle music with the formation of his band Skiffledog.<\/p>\n