James Titus Godbolt (October 2, 1927 – May 16, 2008), known professionally as Jimmy Slyde and also as the "King of Slides", was an American tap dancer known for his innovative tap style mixed with jazz. Slyde was a popular rhythm tap dancer in America in the mid-20th century, when he performed on the nightclub and burlesque circuits. He was also popular in Europe and lived in Paris for a brief period of his life. Slyde appeared in several musicals and shows in the 1980s, and he received numerous awards for his talent. He was known for his signature move, the slide. Early life Godbolt was born in Atlanta and moved to Boston at the age of three. As a child, his mother encouraged him to play the violin, and he enrolled at the Boston Conservatory of Music to advance as a violinist. However, the Conservatory was across the street from Stanley Brown's dance studio, which he would visit to watch great tap dancers such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, John W. Bubbles, Charles "Honi" Coles, and Derby Wilson. At the age of twelve, Godbolt quit violin lessons at the Conservatory and began tap lessons at Brown's studio with his mother's blessing (she wanted him to do something other than play sports to help contain his energy). At the studio, he studied under Brown himself and a student teacher, Eddie "Schoolboy" Ford, who taught Godbolt the slide. Godbolt connected with another dancer known for slides, Jimmy "Sir Slyde" Mitchell, and they put together an act to take on the road. Career In the 1940s, Mitchell and Godbolt started performing at local clubs and on the burlesque circuit calling themselves the Slyde Brothers. This in turn caused Godbolt to be renamed forevermore, Jimmy "Slyde". Their acts included action tricks similar to those the Nicholas Brothers performed; however, they used slides as their trademark move. One dance critic, Sally Sommer, explained his slides as such, "He's upstage left and sliding downstage right as fast and smooth as a skier, arms held out to the side, head tilted. He stops the cascade by banking backward, slips into a fast flurry of taps, working quick and low to the floor and ends the phrase by pulling up high and flashing off a triple turn." The act was such a hit, they received invitations to go on the road to perform with big band names of