guitar, mandolin, dobro, keyboards, vocals

(born March 3, 1954 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, guitar teacher and landscape gardener, best known for being a member of rock band The Hooters.

John Lilley learned to play the guitar at nine years old after he saw The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. He initially learned to play jazz and folk music, with his first teacher being folk and bluegrass expert Jerry Ricks. He eventually studied jazz improvisation with Dennis Sandole and then jazz, theory, orchestration, composition and arranging with Calvin Harris. Lilley also participated in visual arts, drawing voraciously while in school and mostly painting as an adult.

In his twenties during the mid-1970s, Lilley got involved in the local Philadelphia rock music scene, as the manager and guitarist of the Get Right Band and later became the guitarist for Robert Hazard and the Heroes, who went on to write Cyndi Lauper's hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

After a sudden and unexpected departure from the Heroes, Lilley joined another local Philadelphia band, The Hooters, in 1983. The band combined reggae, ska, and rock'n'roll in their music.

Nervous Night, The Hooters' 1985 debut on Columbia Records, sold in excess of 2 million copies and included Billboard Top 40 hits "Day By Day" (#18), "And We Danced" (#21) and "Where Do The Children Go" (#38).

After releasing six albums, The Hooters obtained a large global following throughout the 1980s and 1990s. As a result, they were asked to open three major musical events of the late 20th century: Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985, Amnesty International Concert at Giants Stadium in 1986, and Roger Waters' The Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990. In 1995, The Hooters went on hiatus.

Lilley reunited with The Hooters on successful headlining European summer tours in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

2007 saw the release of Time Stand Still, their first album of new material since 1993.