Peter Maffay is an icon of the German music scene. He has been incredibly prolific and remarkably successful over the past five decades. Maffay has created a unique sound that blends traditional Schlager with good old-fashioned rock’n’roll. And while he has announced he is stepping back from major tours, he remains a dedicated musician and activist.
If you’re not already familiar with his music, now is the perfect time for an introduction and to learn German with the music of Peter Maffay.
Get to Know Peter Maffay
Peter Maffay was born on August 30, 1949, in Brașov, Romania, as the only child of a German-Hungarian and a Transylvanian Saxon. In 1963, the family moved to West Germany, settling in Waldkraiburg in Bavaria near the border with Austria.
His introduction to music came as a teenager. At 14, he began taking violin lessons. He then worked summers in construction to earn enough money for a guitar. He joined a local band, The Beat Boys (later renamed The Dukes), that played covers of popular rock-n-roll songs, like Bob Dylan, Herman’s Hermits, and Donovan.
Unfortunately, Maffay’s grades didn’t match his enthusiasm for music. He was forced twice to repeat a year at his Gymnasium and finally decided to move to Munich to pursue an apprenticeship in graphic arts. But he never completed the apprenticeship.
Fate intervened. Maffay reconnected with Margaret Kraus, a former classmate. The pair formed the folk group Peter & Margit. But by 1970, he had gone solo.
The Music of Peter Maffay
As of 2024, Peter Maffay has released 34 full-length and 17 live albums with 20 of them going to number one. He’s released nearly 100 singles. Maffay is the most successful artist on the German charts with a sound that blends German rock and more traditional Schlager.
Maffay’s eighth studio album, 1979’s Steppenwolf, was his first to go to the top of the album charts. Maffay wrote the album’s songs while traveling the world following the divorce from his first wife. The following year, the rock-forward record Revanche was released to similar success. The record sold a million copies in only two months.
Maffay’s creative spirit has shown no signs of slowing down. He has continued to release new music that resonates with fans of all ages, demonstrating his remarkable ability to adapt and evolve with the times.
Since 2000, he has released seven albums, including 2021’s So weit. In 2017, Maffay cemented his legendary status when he recorded an MTV Unplugged session. He also served as a coach for a single season of the reality TV singing competition show The Voice of Germany.
In 2024, Maffay launched a farewell tour, announcing he was stepping back from performing on large stages but not from music. His final tour was captured for posterity on the live album We Love Rock’n’Roll (Leipzig-Live-2024).
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Photo by Andreas Ortner © Red Rooster Musikproduktion GmbH courtesy of Maffay’s official website. This post contains affiliate links.