King Size Dick (born Heinz Ganss; December 29, 1942) in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

, who mainly sings in the Colognian dialect.

Biography

King Size Dick, a

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

by profession, began his

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defi ...

in the 1960s in his home town of

in several smaller musical bands. The first band he was a member of was called "Dick & The Shade". Whilst serving in the armed forces in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, he was a guest singer in a band called Brian Poole & The Tremeloes. In the 1970s, he performed together with the Bläck Fööss, whilst also working as their truck driver. He usually took on the role of singing the band's successful song "Linda Lou", which has since been inextricably associated with the name King Size Dick. At the end of the 1970s, he joined the "Formation Dick & Alex", together with

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

Alex Parche. They played

German rock German rock music (''Deutschrock'') came into its own only by the late 1960s, but spawned many bands spanning genres such as krautrock, Neue Deutsche Welle, heavy metal, punk, and industrial. Rock and roll itself arose in the United States ...

music songs such as ''Schweine in weißen Westen'' (which translates to ' pigs in white

vest A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit), or vest ( US and Canada), is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wea ...

s').

Awards

King Size Dick is the bearer of the 2002 Willi Ostermann medal, the highest official award of the Cologne Carnival.

Origin of stage name

While Ganss was stationed in Wales with the German armed forces, he was asked to perform locally at social events, such as birthdays, which were

potluck A potluck is a communal gathering where each guest or group contributes a different, often homemade, dish of food to be shared. Other names for a "potluck" include: potluck dinner, pitch-in, shared lunch, spread, faith supper, carry-in dinner ...

. In Cologne, overweight people are at times given the nickname ''Dick'', from the German adjective which means 'fat'. Another example of the use of the German adjective as a

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

is for the comedy duo of

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo ...

, which Germans often refer to as "Dick und Doof", meaning 'fat and stupid'. Thus the adjective ''dick'' became a nickname for Ganss. During one of the social gatherings in Wales, someone asked Heinz Ganss his name. He replied "Dick", referring to the German adjective for 'fat', or 'large', or 'bigger'. The person who asked him presumed that this was a German word and asked what the German word "

dick Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

" meant in English. Heinz Ganss replied: "large". "Oh", replied the Welshman and paraphrased: " king size". Ganss stuck to that and thus his stage name remained "King Size Dick" ('big and fat'), with no intended phallic connotation. In the Colognian dialect, the German adjective translates to as opposed to ''Dick'' which in Colognian, like in English, is also regarded a variation of the Christian name "

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

". Back home, his nickname and

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

remained "Dick", even in the Colognian dialect.

Discography (incomplete)

Albums

* ' (1979) * ' (1981) * ' (1990) * ' (1991) * ' (1993) * ''Kölsche Spezialitäten '' (1995) * ' (1996) * ' (2003) * ''Weihnacht'' (2009)

Singles

* ''Macho-girl'' (1990) * ''Wapapapa u.a.'' (1991) * ''Kölle my love'' (1995) * ''Halleluja'' (1995) * ' (1997) * ' (1997) * ' (1998) * ' (2001) * ''Kölsche Evergreens'' (2007) * ' (2010)

References

External links

King Size Dick – official Website

King Size Dick at Musicline.de
*
Agentur Ahrens - Profile of King Size Dick from his Agent

Musical Video Clips featuring King Size Dick
{{Authority control German rock musicians German comedy musicians Musicians from Cologne 1942 births Living people