This article makes the case that three rock vocalists from the 1960s brought a level of distinctiveness and raw emotional power to the genre that has never been matched since. Rather than a piece of news, it is an opinion-style retrospective celebrating the individuality of these singers' voices and their lasting influence on rock music.

The piece highlights Janis Joplin, whose gritty, forceful delivery on songs such as "Me and Bobby McGee" gave her a uniquely powerful and unpolished sound; Robert Plant, whose unmistakable vocals with Led Zeppelin helped lay the groundwork for the band's success in the 1970s; and Jim Morrison of The Doors, whose more restrained, poetic and near-spoken style, exemplified by "Light My Fire", proved equally impactful despite lacking the vocal power of the other two.