TOD: I always thought Grace Slick was the Ethel Merman of her generation, and now that I've seen "A Serious Man," I'm more convinced than ever.
But favorites? There are too many, including some pop stars and r&b stars from those years: Roy Orbison, Blood, Sweat & Tears, the Who, that whole Phil Spector Wall of Sound era (the Ronettes, the Chiffons, the Crystals, you name it), Aretha, Ray Charles, Elvis, Neil Diamond, the Guess Who...
I was a kid then, so all music was new and fresh and vital and formative.