Someone else born in the early 40s would have been The Beatles.....probably The Stones.
I don't think the Stones, they always had a different fan base to the fabs, it was one or 'tuther....
For me, The Kinks were strong contenders, I see the Kinks as a sort of Beatles without Paul, plenty of hits & thought provoking songs capturing the essence of everyday lifes, Shangri La, Sunny Afternoon, Waterloo Sunset, Autumn Almanac
But the one I really thought had the mega talent of a John Lennon was Syd Barrett, he could write a 3 chord hit seemingly at the drop of a hat, he was the reason had a record contract AND he could write surrealism as per Lennon, Astronome Domine, The Gnome, Scarecrow, Lucifer Sam, brilliantly talented man..
But then again there was Marc Bolan.