He married Rosemarie Remling in 1972 and had a son, Achim Petry, two years later. Achim has re-recorded or made new editions of some of his father's songs.
Petry was born in the Cologne neighborhood of Raderthal and grew up there. After his father's death at age 16, he assumed responsibility for his 11-year-old brother.
In 1997, he was named the leading German language musician in terms of chart figures for the year, with his most successful album Alles.
He won the Goldene Stimmgabel award in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005 for Most successful German solo pop act.
He obtained a vocational degree in precision mechanics while touring with his band in Cologne and surroundings.
In 1998 and 2006 he won the "Platinum Life Award" during the same Goldene Stimmgabel awards.
In late 2017, he announced a name change to Pete Wolf. He released the album Happy Man under this moniker on October 27th, with his musical genre shifted towards country and lyrics in English language.
He won the award for "Best Folk/Pop Artist" National/International" during the Echo awards in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001.