Little Enis

Glenn Carlos Toadvine was a musician. His stage name that he would be known by in the music world was “Little Enis”. The thing Little Enis was best known for was his left-handed upside down style of guitar playing. This was a style that was all his own. Instead of restringing the guitar which was normally made for right handed people, Little Enis played his guitar upside down. The way this was accomplished was by cording with his right hand over the top of the guitar neck and with his left hand he strummed up from the bottom instead of down in the fashion a guitar would normally be strummed or picked per say. His style of Guitar playing did not go unnoticed; the Grand Ole Opry even noticed his unique and distinctive guitar playing. Little Enis’s band was called "The Table Toppers". They toured for a time with Jerry Lee Lewis as his opening act. Carlos is listed in the Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame. He was an Elvis impersonator performing shows that would literally tear the house down. Playboy Magazine published an eleven page story about Little Enis and his band. The article was titled "The Greatest Left-Handed Upside Down Guitar Player". He is also included in a book by Ed McClanahan titled "Famous People I have Known". Glenn Carlos Toadvine was the son of William L and Dora Toadvine. He was born in Hogue Hollow, Boyle County, Kentucky on August 5th 1935, where he was raised with his two brothers. The three boys attended school in Parksville, Kentucky and played basketball as Parksville Wildcats. At the young age of forty Carlos died from a heart attack while visiting his sister in Pompano Beach, Florida on February 26, 1976. There were more than a thousand people that showed up for his memorial service. His obituary was carried in many newspapers around the country, such as: the San Diego Union in San Diego, CA; Aberdeen Daily News in Aberdeen, SD; Plain Dealer in Cleveland, OH; Athens Sunday Messenger Athens, Ohio; Sheboygan Press Newspaper in Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Evening Independent Newspaper in Massillon, Ohio; Herald Times Reporter, Newspaper in Manitowoc, Wisconsin; Trenton Evening Times, NJ; Lock Haven Express Newspaper in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania; Santa Ana Register Newspaper Location: Santa Ana, California. Below are two examples of his Obituary: 1) Names in the News Carlos Toadvine, better known as Little Enis, has died of a heart attack while visiting his sister at Pompano Beach, Florida. He was 40 years old. He came to Lexington, Kentucky in the early 1950's after having been on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, billed as a "left-handed upside down guitar picker." Toadvine worked in Lexington Night Clubs for many years, but he had curtailed his appearances recently after suffering an earlier heart attack. 2) Lexington, Ky.-Carlos Toadvine known at the Grand Ole Opry and in night clubs as Little Enis, died Friday of a heart attack while visiting a sister at Pompano Beach, Fla. He was 40.He worked in Lexington night clubs for many years and was known at the Opry as the "left-handed, upside down guitar picker." 4)Date: Sunday, February 29, 1976 Paper: Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, NJ) Page: 27