Flashing lights, adoring fans and lavish lifestyles make fame a common desire among artists everywhere, but according to Taylor Pie, it’s better to be nobody famous. “Songs are about life, to me, and folk music: that’s what it’s always been about, being able to survive and not having to depend on being famous, to me, was a gift,” Pie shared in her documentary, Nobody Famous, which chronicles a touching story of how art and music are about more than an end result, but the journey and music that gets you there.
Nobody Famous is an award-winning documentary that chronicles the rise and success of Corpus Christi’s own Pozo-Seco Singers. The winner of Best Documentary in the 2021 New Jersey Film Festival and Best Music Documentary in the Seattle Film Festival in 2022, the film is now available on DVD and streaming services to watch at home. Starring Corpus Christi native Taylor Pie, the documentary follows the story of Pozo Seco Singers members Don Williams, Taylor Pie and Lofton Kline as they climbed to the very edges of success, and beyond.
When I asked Pie what her hope was for viewers to take with them from this film, she responded, “That doing what one loves is the real key to a happy life even if you have to take other jobs to support it.” To Pie, it’s the music that matters, and the passion and work that goes into it that has the most meaning.
The Pozo-Seco Singers were a Corpus Christi trio that formed in the mid-sixties, achieving modest successes such as breaking the top 40’s list twice and signing with Albert Grossman Management, who eventually signed names such as Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan and the similar Peter, Paul & Mary. After the band disbanded, Taylor Pie aided Don Williams in launching his successful career, and then moved on in her own life to “go where the folk wind blows.” A treasured piece of Corpus Christi history, The Pozo-Seco Singers have a star on the South Texas Music Walk of Fame that’s free to visit at any time.
In 2015, Pie was inducted into the National Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame and has recorded multiple solo albums since her Pozo-Seco days. She chose a quieter life, though, deciding against seeking fame and fortune to pursue her own ideas of artistry and embracing her own identity as an artist instead. She is currently the CEO and head of A&R for PuffBunny Records, an indie folk legacy label.
When asked for her advice to upcoming musicians in Corpus Christi, Pie responded that she’s, “seen an artist sit in a chair in a room with maybe 30 people, unplugged and with no microphone, and bring everyone in the room to their feet after performing a song. It felt beautifully intimate and magical. If you are really good, people will ask you to come and play for them.”
The documentary will be airing on KEDT on March 8 during their fund drive, as a Corpus Christi affiliate of Texas Public Television, and Pie will be in the studio with KEDT as well. If you have to miss it, the documentary is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video and Vudu.
