At the height of his fame, James Brown reigned supreme as the king of funk, the first voice and innovator of a brand new musical genre. Behind the scenes, Brown was a taskmaster, feuding with rivals as well as members of his own band. By the 1980's, the work ethic that propelled him to superstardom began to take its toll. Compromised by his own bad decisions, Brown was eclipsed by a new generation of stars trying to follow in his footsteps. Despite falling off the Billboard charts, the king of funk never lost the showmanship that made him a legend.