Sunday Morning Post (V.3; #5) - An Unknown Icon (At Least to Me)

I never heard of Hilton Valentine until I heard he had passed away this past week.  He’s another person I am learning so much about after they are gone, but I know his work.  His obituary identifies him as a founding member of the British rock group The Animals.  And, yes, like most Americans, we associate the Animals with one recording: House of the Rising Sun.

And yes, it is his guitar riff at the beginning of this recording that people tend to remember more about anything else about him or the record.  The riff has become an iconic part of our western culture.  It's a somber entrance to a traditional folk song which sounds more like a funeral dirge than a recounting of a human being’s fall from grace.

I will offer it today for the memory of all the times we have heard the song played on the radio, and as a tribute to an artist about whom I knew so little. 

The song itself seems be relevant too in its own strange way.  Between the lies and delusion of the last four years, and the ongoing ups and downs of the pandemic, it feels like we’ve all been in the House of the Rising Sun for a long time.  Yes, the house may promise happiness, but it all leads to ruin in the end.

(Thank you for reading.  RIP, Hilton Valentine.)