I recently had the chance to meet Jim Cosgrove, aka Mr. Stinky Feet, at a neighborhood family festival. With the upcoming release of his second DVD, Kansas City Parent thought it was time to introduce him to those of you who may not have met. Jim, meet our parents. Parents, meet Jim…
Q: How did you get started in the music for the toddler- preschool business?
A: I started writing songs for my nieces and nephews in the early 90s, and they liked them. Then in 1997 a friend asked me to play a morning story-time at a local bookstore. After the show, parents approached me and asked if I had a tape or CD. I said, "No, maybe I should make one." Later that year I got together with some buddies in a garage in Lawrence and we recorded my first CD, Bop Bop Dinosaur. I thought that would be the only album I would ever record. People must have liked it, because now I've got six CDs, a DVD, and new one coming out in February. I've had the opportunity to travel all over the U.S. and to parts of Europe singing with kids. And we've even played at the White House! Who would have thought?
Q: How did you get your rather unusual name "Mr. Stinky Feet"?
A: The name is one that my fans gave me -- I didn't come up with it. After my CD Bop Bop Dinosaur came out, kids called me "Bop Bop." When Stinky Feet came out they started calling me Stinky Feet or the Stinky Feet guy. I stopped one day and said to a little boy "That's Mr. Stinky Feet" -- I thought it sounded a little more respectable. And it stuck.
Q: What’s your favorite song that you perform?
A: It's hard to pick a favorite -- it's like asking a parent to pick a favorite child. It depends on the day and my mood. I have a lot of fun playing my rockin' tunes like "Little Red Wagon," and "Slug Bug," but I also love to play my more sentimental songs like "Rachel's Garden" and "Daddy's Girl," which I wrote for my daughter, Lyda. I don't often get a chance to play the sentimental ones in public. Sometimes we'll be listening to an older CD and I'll hear a song that I’ve forgotten about. It will catch me by surprise and I'll think, "Hey, that's pretty good."
Q: Does Lyda have a favorite?
A: She loves her song, of course, “Daddy's Girl.” Lately she's been requesting "Hark! It's Harold the Angel," from the Christmas CD.
Q: What's life like on tour?
A: I perform more than 300 shows every year. Most are within 200 miles of KC, but we spend a few months each year on the road. We’re fortunate that we’ve been able to travel almost everywhere together as a family -- and we've had a blast. It is the best possible situation I can imagine. Other couples ask us how we can stand being together literally all the time -- we love it because we really enjoy each other's company! Our two-year-old daughter travels with us and is a real trooper. She's learned to be flexible and gets as much of a thrill out of it as we do. She’s visited the White House, as well as Graceland, the Space Needle, the Rocky Mountains, and hundreds of elementary schools, in the US and in several European countries. I can't think of a better education for her. She’s met scores of wonderful people who have been our hosts. We feel very blessed to be doing what we're doing and to be able to do it as a family.
We have a new addition due in early May. That will change things, I suppose, but we plan on traveling as we have been. Another personality will make it that much more fun.
Q: Do you write songs about real life events that happen with your family?
A: Most of my songs are about real life events -- either from my own life such as “Little Red Wagon,” and “I Love Baseball,” or from the lives of kids I know. Kids give me my best material -- they'll come up to me and say, "Hey, you need a song about pickles, or scabs, or whatever. Sometimes I'll ask them to help me write it. My daughter is just now verbalizing her thoughts and dreams so we're working on some songs together. The supply of ideas is endless. Every parent has the raw elements to be a great songwriter; I've just acted on it and made it my career.
More about Mr. Stinky Feet:
Jim’s Christmas CD just won a national Parent-to-Parent Adding Wisdom Award. (www.addingwisdomaward.com.) Five of his six CDs have won national "parent-approval" honors, including three Parents' Choice Awards. His collection includes:
- Mr. Stinky Feet’s Road Trip
- Pick Me! Pick Me!
- Ooey, Gooey
- Mr. Stinky Feet
- Bop, Bop Dinosaur
- Mr. Stinky Feet’s Chritmas
- Stinky Feet Live (DVD)
Check out his web site www.jimcosgrove.com