Johnny was born in Brooklyn in 1930 and began studying piano at age ten. As a teenager he went to jam sessions on the lower East side where he met some of the greatest players of the era such as Willie "The Lion" Smith, "Big Sid" Catlett and "Hot Lips" page.

His first professional job was with cornetist Bobby Hackett. In 1957 he replaced Ralph Sutton as intermission pianist at Eddie Condon's Greenwich Village saloon. He then took over for Gene Schroeder in the house band that included Buck Clayton, Pee Wee Russell, Yank Lawson, Billy Butterfield, Lou McGarrity, Peanuts Hucko, George Wettling and others.

Between stints at Condon's, Johnny played at most of the New York jazz nightclubs, including The Embers, Nick's, The Roundtable, Condon's Uptown and the Metropole where he broadened his musical education by playing with Henry "Red" Allen, Vic Dickenson, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Shavers, Roy Eldridge and Jo Jones. Later, he worked with Phil Napoleon and the Dukes of Dixieland. He appeared on the Jackie Gleason Show.

Johnny moved to Los Angeles in 1979 and played most of the jazz clubs there. He now lives in Palm Harbor, FL, and has been recording extensively. His high visibility on the jazz scene has made him one of the more popular jazz pianists. As noted by many jazz critics, "The beat is always there."