Together with his older brother Karl-Heinz, he grew up in the working-class district Transvaal in Emden (East Frisia).

[2] His parents were deeply religious Baptists and members of the Evangelic Free Church community of Emden, which taught a Bible-class that Waalkes visited regularly.

In 1964, he performed for the first time in the area of Emden with his band The Rustlers, mainly covering songs by the Beatles.

He cracked some jokes alongside to his songs and apologized whenever he accidentally dropped the microphone due to his nervousness.

In the same year, he performed his first big concert with his band The Rustlers in Hamburg, which he recorded live at his own charge.

[2] In 2023, German rapper Ski Aggu and Dutch musician Joost Klein created an edit of Waalkes' song 'Friesenjung' from 1993.

Parodies, for instance in form of popular songs that he revises and presents with his guitar, are typical stylistic elements.

Additionally, he often imbeds satire, political innuendos and critique of time and society into his humorous performances.

Waalkes played roles that became famous on their own, for example the reporter Harry Hirsch, Frau Suhrbier and the senior forestry official Oberförster Pudlich, as well as Herbert von Karamalz, who portrays a parody of Herbert von Karajan and a nod to a German brand of Malt beer.

[14] Waalkes' most famous comic character is the Ottifant ('Ottiphant'), which he drew originally only for the cover of a record.

His movies are parodies of current events within the scope of culture and public life and are characterized by situation comedy and caricatured individuals.

In 2018, Waalkes was awarded with the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his lifework.