Florida Man Born Without Arms Plays Guitar with His Toes

WPTV/CNN posted a video of a Florida man, Tony Melendez, playing guitar at John Carroll High School in West Palm Beach.

What's unusual is that Melendez, who was born without arms and with a club foot, plays guitar with his toes, not letting his handicap get in the way.

"You know, music, I pray with it, I dance with it, it takes me back in time," said Melendez, who as a child ditched his artificial limbs and found his footing and his gift in music. "I just look up in the heavens and I ask for my good Lord's help. I turn pages in a book, I can string a guitar, I could tune it, what a hand could do, this foot could simulate."

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.