John R. Valby (born November 22, 1944)[1] is an American musician, singer, songwriter, comedian, and producer known for his comedic and obscene song parodies. Also known as Dr. Dirty, he typically performs in a white tailcoat suit and black derby hat. His songs and shows focus mainly on sex and racial slurs, with a mix of current and historic people and events.
Early life
Valby was born and raised in Western New York.[2] He attended school in Rochester, New York, where at age seven, was taught to play the piano by two nuns.[2][3] At ten, Valby wanted to become a performer. In 1966, Valby graduated from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont.[4] At one point he considered a profession as a philosophy teacher, but soon realized it was not right for him and focused on musical entertainment.[2]
Career
Valby joined various rock bands in his early career that "kept on breaking up", which drove him to become a solo piano act of mostly rock and roll and honky tonk tunes. At one show in May 1974, he added some dirty songs of his own into the set.[5] The positive response to the dirty songs led Valby to focus on the more adult material.[6] He would often write new material while transporting between gigs.[5] Valby claimed that he was named "Dr. Dirty" by the National Entertainment Conference, a booking organisation for the college circuit. He stated that he disliked the name because it "takes away from the element of surprise".[2] He credited some of his obscene act as a reaction to the Catholic repression that he faced during childhood.[6]
In addition to his blue comedy act, Valby has recorded and produced pop and rock albums for himself and other artists, including Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jim Schoenfeld, with whom Valby recorded two albums, Schony (1972) and The Key is Love (1974). He also had a small role as a piano player in a Tijuana brothel in the 1983 film Losin' It which featured an early performance by Tom Cruise.
Personal life
Valby is married to his wife Anne; together they have six children.[6][5] In August 2012 his home in Clarence, New York was burned due to suspected arson.[7] As of 2016, he still lives in Clarence.
Valby endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election and recorded a song and music video supporting his campaign.[8] (He would later backtrack on his endorsement, working a line into a 2018 song stating that Trump was "full of shit".)[9]
