Hilton Stewart Paterson Valentine (May 21, 1943 – January,29 2021), known as Hilton Valentine, 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.
Hilton 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 several 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. 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”.
In 1963, 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.
The Animals moved to London upon finding fame in 1964 and were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic number-one hit single “The House of the Rising Sun” as well as by hits such as “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, “It’s My Life”, “Don’t Bring Me Down”, “I’m Crying”, “See See Rider” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”
While the Animals are often remembered most for Burdon’s vocals and Price’s organ, Hilton 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 had 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.
The Animals balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-oriented album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US. The Animals underwent numerous personnel changes in the mid-1960s, and suffered from poor business management, leading the original incarnation to split up in 1966.
Following The Animals’ breakup in 1966, Hilton 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.
Hilton Valentine then returned to the UK, and over the years joined several Animals reunions, including one in 1977, which recorded a reunion album called “Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted”.
Along with Eric Burdon, Chas Chandler, Alan Price and John Steel, Hilton Valentine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Along with the other Animals, Hilton was also inducted into Hollywood’s Rock Walk of Fame in May 2001.
Hilton Valentine 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. From February 2007 to November 2008 Valentine also 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!”.
Hilton Valentine’s last recording was “River Tyne”, a 2019 video that celebrated the river close to his boyhood home.
Hilton Valentine died on January 29, 2021 at the age of 77.
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