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Peter Maffay sets German record with 22nd number-one album, "Nashville"
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In brief
Peter Maffay's new duet album "Nashville," recorded with singer Johannes Oerding, entered the German charts at number one on 9 October 2026, giving the 77-year-old musician his 22nd chart-topping album — a record no other artist has reached in Germany. The milestone, confirmed by German chart data, caps a recording career that began in 1969.
Peter Maffay has become the first artist in German chart history to land 22 number-one albums. The record was confirmed on 9 October 2026 when "Nashville," a collaborative album with singer-songwriter Johannes Oerding, debuted at the top of the German Album Charts, compiled by GfK Entertainment.
The achievement means Maffay has broken his own previous mark rather than overtaking a rival. He reached 20 number-one albums before October 2024, then 21 with the live album "We Love Rock 'n' Roll: Leipzig 2024 – Live," released on 11 October 2024 through Hansa Records, according to a statement published by Sony Music Germany, which owns Hansa. "Nashville" is his 22nd.
How "Nashville" was made
Maffay, 77, and Oerding, 44, recorded the eleven-track album over five days at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, working live with local session musicians, according to a report by music outlet Schlagerprofis. The pair has said they share an interest in blues, country-rock and handcrafted, narrative-driven music, according to the German news agency dpa, as carried by Tagesspiegel.
Pre-release singles from the album included "Ein Leben lang ist nicht lang," "Dir gehört die Welt" and "Sisyphos," the last of which was promoted as a track centred on solidarity and freedom, Schlagerprofis reported. The two musicians appeared on NDR's talk show on 9 October 2026, the day the album topped the chart.
In that same chart week, Danger Dan's "Keine Angst" entered at number two and a reissue of the Beatles' "Rubber Soul" placed third, according to dpa's chart report.
A career that began in 1969
Maffay was born Peter Alexander Makkay on 30 August 1949 in Brașov, Romania, and moved to West Germany at age 14 in 1963, according to Wikipedia. His 1970 single "Du" became his first major German hit, and the 1979 album "Steppenwolf" established him as a national star, selling 1.6 million copies per the same source. His 1980 album "Revanche" sold more than 2.1 million copies.
Across his career Maffay has sold more than 40 million records, Wikipedia states, and he also created the Tabaluga children's media franchise. He received Germany's Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) in 1996 for charitable work and served as a coach on "The Voice of Germany" in 2022.
For Oerding, "Nashville" is his fourth number-one album in Germany, according to a chart report by musikwoche.de, which noted that two of his chart-topping albums came within 2026 alone; the report did not individually name his earlier number-one titles.
What the record means
The Hansa label's marketing head, Marc Huttenlocher, said after Maffay's 21st number-one album that reaching that total gave the artist "legendary status," according to the Sony Music Germany statement. That same statement described Maffay as holding the record for the most number-one albums by any artist in any country, though it did not cite an independent international chart body for that specific comparison.
| Album | Year reached No. 1 | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| — | before Oct. 2024 | 20th No. 1 album (per Sony Music Germany) |
| We Love Rock 'n' Roll: Leipzig 2024 – Live | 2024 | 21st No. 1 album |
| Nashville (with Johannes Oerding) | 2026 | 22nd No. 1 album — German chart record |
No individual release date for "Nashville" was specified in the chart reports reviewed; the album was confirmed at number one in the chart week reported on 9 October 2026.
Questions
- How many number-one albums does Peter Maffay have?
- 22, after his collaborative album "Nashville" with Johannes Oerding topped the German Album Charts in the chart week reported on 9 October 2026, according to dpa and GfK Entertainment chart data.
- Who is Johannes Oerding?
- Oerding is a 44-year-old German singer-songwriter, according to a report carried by Tagesspiegel (dpa); "Nashville" is his fourth number-one album in Germany, according to musikwoche.de's chart report.
- Where was the album "Nashville" recorded?
- It was recorded in five days at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with local session musicians playing live, according to a report by Schlagerprofis.
- Is this a world record or just a German record?
- German chart reports (dpa, GfK Entertainment data) describe it as a record no other artist has reached in Germany. A Sony Music Germany statement about Maffay's prior, 21st number-one album additionally described him as holding the record for most number-one albums by any artist in any country, without citing an international chart authority for that specific claim.
- How old is Peter Maffay?
- Maffay was born on 30 August 1949 in Brașov, Romania, making him 77 at the time "Nashville" reached number one, according to Wikipedia and German chart reporting.
How the world is telling it
- GermanGerman outlets (dpa via Tagesspiegel, musikwoche.de, Schlagerprofis, Sony Music Germany) frame the story as a domestic chart-history milestone, emphasising GfK Entertainment's official count of 22 number-one albums, Maffay's decades-long career, and his collaboration with younger artist Johannes Oerding as a bridge between generations of German rock and pop.
Sources
- Tagesspiegel (dpa) — "Tennessee-Vibes: 22 Nummer-Eins-Alben: Peter Maffay knackt Chart-Rekord"
- musikwoche.de — "Charts KW41: 22. Nummer eins für Peter Maffay, vierte für Johannes Oerding"
- Sony Music Germany — "Peter Maffay bricht mit 21. Nummer-eins-Album eigenen Rekord"
- Schlagerprofis — "PETER MAFFAY: 22. Nummer-1-Album mit OERDING"
- news.at — "22 Nummer-Eins-Alben: Maffay knackt deutschen Chart-Rekord"
- Wikipedia — "Peter Maffay"
- Wikipedia — "Johannes Oerding"
This piece was prepared with artificial intelligence and passed an automated source check before publication. If you see an error, ask for a correction. Request a correction or reply · How we make this
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