Draft:Wiley Pittman

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Wiley Pittman (aka Pitman) [a] was Ray Charles Robinson’s (aka Ray Charles) first piano teacher. [[1]] Wiley was born in Stateline, Mississippi on December 10, 1895 to Tom Wiley Pittman and Margaret Fail Mitchell [2]. In 1898, his father married Irene Grimes with whom he bore Wiley’s eleven half-siblings. [3] In the 1910 United States Census, Wylie was listed as living with his mother in the household of his grandmother Charlotte Fail. His mother was listed as Margaret Mitchell, and the census taker enumerated Wiley as “Wyley Mitchell.” He was counted as one of five children of whom Margaret was the mother. 

In 1930, Wiley relocated to Greenville, Florida, where he met and married the widowed Georgia Morgan Scurry.[4] Wiley and Georgia Pittman were Ray Charles’s neighbors, and business owners. It was in Mr. Pittman’s Red Wing Café that Ray had his first music lesson [5].

Ray’s mother Aretha Williams Robinson was the single parent of two boys. Not only did Mr. Pittman, who they affectionately called “Mr. Pit,” teach Ray piano, but in support of their mother, he and Georgia became the guardians of the younger boy George. As indicated on his death certificate, at the time of his premature death, Ray’s younger brother was known as George Pittman. He drowned at the age of one year, four months and seven days on January 16, 1935. His parents were listed as Wiley Pittman of Stateline, Mississippi and Georgia Morgan (maiden name) of Greenville, Florida. Georgia was the informant.[6]

Wiley Pittman’s contribution to Ray Charles’s musical success is memorialized on the historical marker that sets in front of Charles’s childhood home in Greenville, Florida. The marker reads:

<This home is a reconstruction of the house where musician Ray Charles (1930 – 2004) lived with his mother, Aretha Williams, and adopted grandmother, Margaret “Muh” Robinson, shortly after his birth in 1930, until about the age of five. “RC,” as Ray was known by his friends, received his first piano instruction from Wiley Pitman, owner of the nearby Red Wing Café. Ray and his mother later moved into a small house behind the café. … Because of advanced deterioration, the Town of Greenville purchased the structure to preserve the memory of Ray Charles. With a grant from the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation, the Town completed the reconstruction of the house in 2008.>[7]

Shortly after his brother drowned, Ray, whose nickname was R.C., began to have serious problems with his eyes. His mother was informed that he would eventually lose his sight. His mother was compelled to send him away from the comfort of his small community to a school for the blind. The classic training that he experienced at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind combined with the Boogie Woogie style that he learned from Wiley Pittman gave Ray Charles’s music a unique blend of traditional and contemporary flavor.

In the movie Ray, starring Jamie Fox, 1950 is highlighted as a significant year in the singer’s life. It marked a turning point. Ray Charles Robinson is discussing his career with men who are going to launch him into stardom. A decision is made to drop his surname and call himself Ray Charles. As he sits in the Los Angeles nightclub listening to the jazz pianist Arthur Tatum Jr., Ray has a flashback to his childhood. He reflects on his early lessons with Wiley Pittman. [8] Considering that 1950 is the year that Mr. Pittman died, he was likely facing the fact that Wiley would not be there to celebrate his success. By the time Ray Charles released his first #1 hit “I Got a Woman,” it was 1954. Both his mother, who died while he was in his early teens, and his first music teacher were only there as memories. While Ray Charles described Wiley Pittman as “a great Boogie Woogie pianist,” [2] it was as a music teacher that he made his greatest contribution to music history.

Notes

  1. ^ The following misspellings of his name include: first name as Wylie and surname as Pittmon.

References

  1. ^ "Ray Charles: My First Piano Lessons," Visionary Project.
  2. ^ Wylie Pittmon in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. Listed as the son of “Tom Pittmon” and “Margret Fails,” born 10 Dec 1895 in “State Line W, Mississippi.”
  3. ^ Tom Pittman in the 1910 United States Federal Census for Mississippi, county: Wayne, town: State Line, District 0129 (7 children listed); 1920 United States Federal Census for Tom Pittman, Mississippi, Wayne, Beat 1, District 0146 (10 children listed: eldest no longer listed but 4 were added since the 7 listed in 1910).
  4. ^ 1950 United States Federal Census for Wylie Pittman, Florida, county: Madison, town: Greenville, E.D. Number 40-11.
  5. ^ Lydon, Michael. Ray Charles: Man and Music, New York: Routledge, 2004.
  6. ^ Certificate of Death state file no. 1275, Florida State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
  7. ^ “Ray Charles Childhood Home,” Historical Marker Database. submitted on February 8, 2012, by Kia Scott of Orlando, Florida. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=52361. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  8. ^ “Ray | Ray Charles' First Piano Lesson,” Universal Pictures. Retrieved May 19, 2026.

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