Knoxville, East Tennessee, and the world of Cowboy Music lost a legend when Andrew James Smalls Jr. passed away peacefully at his home in Loudon on Sunday, March 1st. Those who have loved him as a friend and longtime performer will remember him simply as “Marshal Andy” – one of the last of the country’s famous singing cowboys.
He was 96 and the host and voice of the long-running “Marshal Andy and the Riders of the Silver Screen,” which aired in the 1980s. Around Knoxville and Knox County, he was known as “The Knoxville Cowboy.”
His voice was unmistakable. He was a master storyteller on both his radio and TV shows. He was a major star for 37 years on East Tennessee PBS. He was one of 12 children, and a little-known fact about Smalls is that he played college football for legendary Coach Frank Howard at Clemson University.
Marshal Andy wore his signature white cowboy hat for the final time when he retired at 92 in 2023. His last show, which was on his birthday, was on the 6 O’Clock Swerve at Barley’s in Knoxville.
He was born in beautiful Georgetown, S.C., in 1929 and cut his musical teeth and interest in performing at the town’s Palace Theater. He often played with musical groups along the state’s “Grand Strand” before moving to Knoxville in the 1960s.
The love of his life was Kathryn Yarbrough Smalls, and they were married for 61years. She passed away on July 1, 2018, in their Loudon home at the age of 85.
Services for this special man were held on Monday, March 9, at McGill Click Funerals & Cremations in Loudon. Here is the LINK to his obituary.
Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California, and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email him at the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.
