Animals’ founding guitarist influenced rock’s future sound

LONDON — Hilton Valentine, the founding guitarist of the English rock ’n’ 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’s 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.

“Valentine was a pioneering guitar player influencing the sound of rock and roll for decades to come,” the label said in a statement.

Valentine formed the Animals in 1963 alongside singer Eric Burdon, bassist Chas Chandler, organist Alan Price and drummer John Steel.

The band’s most famous hit came in 1964, when their rock-infused take of “The House of the Rising Sun” topped the charts in the U.K. and the U.S.

Valentine was with the band for four years. He then released solo work and intermittently returned to the band, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Getty Images file photo Hilton Valentine, who began playing guitar at age 13, helped form the Animals in 1963.