John Petley was born in London, England. After having some formal piano lessons as a child, he taught himself to play ragtime by listening to and transcribing the recordings of the masters of the idiom. He played a variety of piano styles at several local pubs and clubs before coming to America by way of a job as a pianist on a cruise ship.

In 1983, his interest in ragtime was renewed when he joined the Northern Virginia Ragtime Society, a non profit organization dedicated to the preservation of ragtime and related music. He has been a performing member of the group ever since.

John has a special fondness for folk ragtime and plays it in an "authentic" rollicking style. His performances at ragtime festivals include an annual visit to the prestigious Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri, most recently in 2003. He has played solo concerts for the Classic Ragtime Society of Indianapolis and at the Takoma Park jazz festival in Washington DC. Other appearances include several "Call to the Arts" telethons for Media Cable General as well as productions for the Arlington, Virginia Community Television System. John currently lives in Germantown, Maryland. He has two solo CD's so far.