Start with a base of signature vocals. Add a tight funky rhythm and horn section! Sprinkle in a little period wah-wah pedal to taste. A pinch of early string and other synth sounds. Top it all off with interesting arranging, recording and mixing. No one does funky like the Ohio Players.
A couple of high school friends and I went to see the 1977 PINK FLOYD Animals/In The Flesh concert at Milwaukee County Stadium in Wisconsin. Our friend Jim McNamara scored us "Field Passes". We sat on the grass about 150 feet in front of the sound systems front of house mix position. What I experienced that night is one of the reasons I got involved in audio production (Thanks Jim!).
Instantly enable all the available automation controls (parameters) for a plug-in.
Open the plug-in for which you want to enable all automation controls.
Press and hold down the Ctrl, Windows and Alt keys.
Left click on the "Automation Enable" button at the top of the plug-in window.
I've drawn a red line around the Automation Enable button in the image below.