ALUMNI PROFILE
Call him "Stinky Feet"
We don’t want to spread any rumors about Jim Cosgrove’s personal hygiene, but he’s known as Mr. Stinky Feet.
By Nicole sweeney etter
 Cosgrove, Jour ’87, is a children’s singer-songwriter considered by some to be “Jimmy Buffet for kids.” His tunes include “What Color is Your Minivan?” “Put Down the Binky” and his namesake, “Stinky Feet.”
His music career was unplanned. After graduation, he spent several years working in journalism and public relations before realizing he wanted to do something different. “I used to wear starched white collars and power ties, and now I’m dressed like I’m going to a beach party,” he says.
A self-taught musician, he learned to play in his room at Schroeder Hall, where he practiced on a guitar borrowed from Rev. John Naus, S.J. “And really where I cut my musical teeth was playing Mass at St. Joan of Arc Chapel,” he remembers with a chuckle.
He started writing silly songs for his nieces and nephews, and soon was producing his first CD. Now he has six CDs, two DVDs and a back-up band called The Hiccups. He plays more than 300 gigs a year.
“There’s a great wave of children’s music that’s come out in the last five years,” Cosgrove says. “It’s gotten so much better than it used to be when I was kid. The sing-songy nursery rhymes of the past don’t cut it anymore.”
|
