By: Tom Guerra
Hilton Valentine – Photo credit: Germaine Valentine
Hilton Valentine, The Animals’ original guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, died on January 29, 2021 at his Connecticut home. He was 77 years old.
Born on May 21, 1943, near Newcastle, England, Hilton first picked up a guitar after being caught up in the skiffle craze that was spearheaded by Lonnie Donegan, whose cover of “Rock Island Line” became a Top 10 hit in both England and America.
Hilton soon formed a skiffle band called The Heppers that ultimately abandoned the genre in favor of more straight-ahead rock and roll, adopting the name The Wildcats. Working in the clubs of Tyne and Newcastle, Hilton was recognized as a flashy guitarist.
Within a year, The Wildcats attracted the attention of Chas Chandler, bassist for The Alan Price Combo, who offered Hilton the guitar slot. Shortly afterwards, rechristened as The Animals, the 5-piece group recorded their first single “Baby Let Me Take You Home,” propelled by Hilton’s cool, aggressive guitar and set out on a tour of the UK. Later that year, the band would further bolster the British Invasion with their cover of “House of the Rising Sun,” which spent three weeks at the top of the American charts in September, 1964. In fact, Hilton’s arpeggiated guitar intro on “House” became a rite of passage for guitarists who came of age in the 1960’s.
Said Eric Burdon to VG collaborator Tom Guerra in 2003, “In those days, Hilton wasn’t just playing rock ‘n’ roll, he looked rock ‘n’ roll. Here was a guy with the greased mop of hair combed back, cheap leather jacket, winkle picker shoes, black jeans and a smile on his face playing through an echoplex, which was a secret weapon back then.”
As The Animals continued their string of hit singles, it would be Hilton’s unique playing that anchored such songs as “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “Don’t Bring Me Down, and “We Gotta Get Outta This Place.” The original band ultimately broke up in 1966.
In recalling the high points of his career, Hilton said “The first time we came to New York, playing the Paramount Theatre in Times Square, five shows a day for 10 or so days during school holidays, was just amazing, as was getting to meet our heroes, like Chuck Berry.”
After the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, Hilton lived a quiet life in Southern Connecticut, releasing a number of well-received skiffle albums which he promoted at pub gigs around the area. He is survived by his wife, Germaine Valentine.
