Back in the 1950s, When I was growing up in my hometown of Danville, Kentucky, I would often go to the Saturday night amateur contest and country music show at the old State theater there. There would be many local performers who would come to show of their talents. There was one who would often win the contest, and that was Carlos Toadvine.
Carlos was a left handed guitar player. Now I know left handed guitar players are pretty common. But there was nothing common about the way Carlos played the guitar. Instead of reversing the strings on the guitar as most left handed pickers do, Carlos left them as they were, and played the instrument upside down and backwards. He chorded over the top of the neck with his right hand, and strummed or picked upwards from the bottom with his left hand. But that was only one small part of this teen�s talents. He could sing you a song that would make you jump up, clap your hands and dance a jig, or he could sing a tearjerker that would have you reaching for your hankie.
I moved away from Kentucky in 1962, and don�t know too much about Carlos�s career after that. I do know that he took on the stage name of Little Enis, with his band being �The Table Toppers. He worked the clubs in the Lexington Kentucky area, and toured for a while with Jerry Lee Lewis.
Little Enis is remembered by many as a rockabilly artist, and is listed in the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame. He is also remembered as a rocker and Elvis impersonator who could tear the house down. But I know down deep his true roots were in traditional country music, which will come out on the songs listed on this page.
Carlos died in 1976 at only 40 years old. He was never a big star, but he did have his fans. More than 1000 people showed up for his memorial service.
There are many of us who will never forget the little left handed boy who played his guitar backwards and upside down. And to this day, I believe he�s a folk hero in Kentucky. Especially to the folks of Hogue Hollow, Danville, Lexington, and many other Kentucky counties.
I would like to extend a personal thanks to Virgina Hammons of Kentucky and Pamela Manning of Florida for making this music available to me, so I could make it available to you. And a great big thanks to Michael Cassidy of Canada for sending me the tape of Little Enis songs. And also to Ed McClanahan for sending Michael the tape in the first place. Now I ask you, ain't this internet somthing?
A great big thanks to Charlie Stivers of Lexington, KY, for this great photo of Enis & The Tabletoppers.
Click on photo to see autographs on back from Enis, Bucky, Frank and Jerry. .
And another huge thanks to Enis' Daughter, Cynthia, for sending me some great pictures of her Father.
Click HERE to view those photos.
Upgraded Sound Files!
Please Note: After mortgaging my home to get them (not really), I'm very pleased to say that I have now acquired new files of eleven of the listed songs. While they are still not perfect, and the sound of the record can still be heard, the fidelity is much better, an they are now in stereo. The only two that haven't been replaced is Hi Ho Silver and Baby In Blue. Enjoy!
Songs are in the MP3 format. Left click on title to listen to song. Right click on title, and then on "save target as" to save song to your computer.
Swingin' Doors
When The Grass Grows Over Me
Sidewalks Of Chicago
Life's Turned Her That Way
So Plain To See (You Never Did Love Me)
Cold Cold Heart
I Kept The Wine And Threw Away The Rose
Long Black Limousine
Six Days On The Road
I'm A Fool
Another Place Another Time
Hi Ho Silver
Baby In Blue
Picture post card from 1972 of Enis with the dancers in front of the
old Boots Bar in Lexington. Photo by Guy Mendes.
Comments about Little Enis from my discussion group.
Little Enis' work was something....I especially enjoyed "I'll Get Over You When Grass Grows Over Me". I'm glad that I learned about Toadvine and his music.
Lena
Gary.....man! this man gives me cold chills...I listened to " When the Grass Grows Over Me and Life Turned her That Way. This man could sing a country song!
Jack
Little Enis does have a very distinctive voice. I like it, I like it.
Harry
I really enjoyed Little Enis' music. They really had some good singers come out of Ky back then.
Richard
Comments From My Guestbook & E Mail
Sept, 2009
Gary, I work with Janet, she is designing and I am building all the leaded glass for the Boots Bar in Lexington, KY. She is doing a design for a very large window that I'm doing of Little Enis. It is really great that I can come here and see pictures and hear the music of the man. It makes me feel good about memoralizing him in glass. I wish I could have met him. He will live on forever at the old Boots Bar.
Jason
Knoxville, TN
Sept, 2009
Hi Gary,
I enjoyed your site. Recently I was hired by a developer who is renovating the old Boots Bar in Lexington. I am working on stained glass windows for the bar restaurant area. One of the windows may be a tribute to Little Enis. I am excited to know more of his history.
Janet,
Knoxville, TN
Wow, Jerry Musselman (one of little enis' bandmates) is my grandfather, though I have never met him. Growing up only a 5 minute walk away from my grandmothers house (jerry's ex-wife) she would always tell me about how great little enis and the tabble toppers were. It's great to finally see a picture of my grandpa and see the great little enis my father and grandmother were always talking about. He was great.
Sarah,
Texas
I knew Little Enis, Bucky, Frank and Johnny, mostly at Brocks also at Comer's and The Palms. I loved dancing to the Table Toppers back in the 60's. I live in Florida now, but I will never forget them.
Nancy Hamilton Reynolds
Thank you for the wonderful tribute to our dear friend Carlos "Little Enis" Toadvine. He was one of a kind, and we miss him.
Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan
http://jackandmisty.com
I really enjoyed reading this page. So many nice things you said about him and we still miss him to this day. I'm his youngest daughter and he has one grandadaughter. Her name is Hannah Toadvine. I have some old pitures that I would like to share with you if you're interested let me know. Take care and thanks again for the many compliments you made about my Father.
Cynthia L. Toadvine Studer
--hi gary--my name is ed mcclanahan, and i wrote the article about little
enis for Playboy, back in 1974--the piece also appears, in slightly
different form, in my book Famous People I Have Known--
--i'm aware that some members of the toadvine family disapprove of my essay,
in the belief that it casts carlos in a bad light--but my motives were
deeply affectionate, and i believe the essay contributed much to the
longevity and durability of the enis legend, especially here in kentucky,
where it continues, more than 30 years after its original publication, to be
read with pleasure by a great many people--
--Famous People I Have Known has never been out of print--the current
edition was published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2003, and is
available from UPK ($20), or from amazon.com--
--a friend discovered your website, and directed me to it--i enjoyed it very
much--
by the way, i think you're
absolutely right that enis's roots were in country music; his album, I Kept the Wine and Threw Away the Roses, proves that, indisputably--
--Little Enis Lives!--
--all best, ed mcc--
Ed McClanahan
edmcclanahan.com
Thanks for the memories. I remember Little Enis mostly from Comer's Restaurant and Bar. Best Hot Brown Sandwich ever!
My Mother was a teacher at Cassidy Elementary School, and had both of Carlos' daughters in 5th or 6th grade; one in each, I think.
When Donna arrived, Mom expected trouble, due primarily to the "Little Enis" reputation. She was astounded at the little girl's manners. It was always, "Yes, Ma'am", "No, Ma'am", "Please" and "Thank you". She was an excellent student, too.
Mom was better prepared when Hannah started in her class!
Ralph
I worked the band scene in Lexington for a few years when I was young. I played with Little Enis, Bucky Sallee, Frank Tremble, and Jerry Musselman on drums (the TableToppers). Frank's brother had drummed but left for Louisville and better pay. We worked primarily at The Palms (belonged to Linville Puckett). I worked mostly with other bands but sat in with them quite a bit playing bass guitar. We were extremely loud for those days; Frank's Hammond organ had twin Leslie speaker cabinets. Mostly top forty and rock and roll with some country thrown in. It was a grand time for sure.
Wylie Merrill
I played with Little carlos, at the Zebra Lounge in Lexington,Ky.
when he was to weak to carry his box in, I would carry it for him.
He is missed.
Sonny Page
Finally, a tribute site to a very fasinating character!
Great work!
Michael Cassidy
This is the best page I've seen on Daddy in some time. I wanted to thank Ed for making Dad part of his book and his life...Getting his article into Playboy along with adding Daddy into his own book & life was just the nicest and most poignant thing I could ever think of. That's a big deal considering it was about a wonderful, short, multitalented, caring, father along with being a young boy that came out of the stix to make a difference in many lives. Including my own and my family.
Thank you all for this. It is a wonderful page and I have it saved in my favorite places as well as in my heart. I can't thank you all enough.
Always,
Cynthia Toadvine
(Always Daddy's little girl)
Cynthia Toadvine
Chevychasecindy@yahoo.com
Mick Jeffries of Lexington Kentucky recently interviewed Ed McClanahan and Guy Mendes on a weekly college radio show that he does called TRIVIAL THURSDAYS.
There's some great talk here about Enis, as well as other Lexington personalities. You don't want to miss this, and you don't have to. Click HERE to listen to or download this interview. Thanks, Mick, for contacting me about this outstanding show.
Gor some great photos of Enis, from his Daughter, Cynthia, please click HERE
For a great article on Little Enis, please check:
When Little Enis Was King
by Don Edwards
Your's truely with Little Enis' only LP. Click on photo for some great stories.
If anyone has any pictures of little Enis, or more music that they would like to share for this tribute page, please send them to the e mail listed below. It would be much appreciated. Also, if you knew Carlos, and have any info you would like to share, just e mail me or sign the guestbook below. Of course, I would like for you to sign the guestbook anyway!
Thanks a million,
Gary
Please note: I realize no profit from the music or anything else on this page. Songs are from a private collection, and are intended to educate or bring back a memory. Music is for personal and private in home use only.
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Little Enis/Carlos Toadvine page created by Gary Carico Using Geocitie's advanced HTML editor and Microsoft notepad. I bet you really wanted to know that!
