The Animals guitarist was 77 and had an unforgettable riff for “House Of The Rising Sun”

Guitarist Hilton Valentine, whose memorable opening riff of the Animals classic House of the Rising Sun who catapulted the song to number one in the US, died on Friday at the age of 77. According to a statement from his former record company Abkco, no cause of death was given.

Valentine was a founding member of the British group The Animals. The group's song House of the Rising Sun reached number 1 in the UK, US and Canada in 1964 and is considered one of the greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone.

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Valentine’s other hits with The Animals include Don't let me be misunderstood, it's my life And We have to get out of here, The latter was especially popular during the Vietnam War.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

“We at Abkco had the honor of managing The Animals' catalog and his passing is deeply felt by the entire Abkco family,” the record company said in a statement.

Valentine was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England. He started playing guitar at age 13, but was orphaned at 16. He was part of the skiffle group The Heppers, which became The Wildcats, a band known for Valentine's wild style – he was known to roll around on the floor while playing guitar.

Due to his fame, he caught the attention of Chas Chandler, Alan Price and Eric Burdon, who recruited him for a new group they formed in 1963. With the last addition, John Steel, they became The Animals.

Valentine left the group in 1966, but rejoined for several reunions.

Valentine released a solo album in 1969 entitled Everything in your head for Capitol Records. He met with The Animals three times and recorded Before we were so rudely interrupted with the band and rejoined them in 1983.

In May 2001, he was inducted into Hollywood's Rock Walk of Fame along with the other Animals and performed a two-day reunion concert at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles.

In recent years, Valentine has toured with the band Skiffledog, who toured the US and released two albums. He also toured with Burdon in 2007-2008, with whom he remained close friends.

He leaves behind his wife, Germaine Valentine. Funeral information was not available.

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