We need to get to the bottom of this!
Very quick google shows SongFacts has a woman named Barbara Ingram singing on the single. The plot thickens. . . .
Lou Christie, particularly Lightin’ Strikes with its killer guitar riff, although some prefer Rhapsody in the Rain for his fireworks falsetto where you literally can’t tell where he stops and his (female) backup singers start.
And I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far in and no one has mentioned virtually every other song by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons besides Sherry.
I loved this song when I was a kid. It’s one of those songs I associate with a place I heard it playing. Ever since, if 12:45 comes up in conversation, it’s never just 12:45. It has to be sung. Deep.
ETA: They must have been cracking up on Soul Train after that lip-syncing weirdness.
Let’s try that again (it’s just a YouTube link, not sure what happened there):
Scissor Sisters - I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
Don’t know the actual year these were made but they do touch my late high school, early college New Wave heart right in the synthesizer.
The Scissor Sisters band was formed in 2001 and the song I linked to was on their Ta-Dah album, which came out in 2006. I heard about them after they went all Bee Gees on Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb.
Whereas Jimmy is an authentic '80’s act (huge in the UK - you might have heard him in Suspicious Minds)
The Darkness - I Believe in a Thing Called Love
Muse - Knights of Cydonia
Wolfmother - Dimension
ETA: These are all from the mid-2000s or so.
Thought of another one:
Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
This one is more of a very high tenor rather than true falsetto, but I’ll throw it in because the first time I heard it I thought it was a woman singing.
I thought it was strange the first time I heard it, but it grew on me over time. Knight Errant by Tim Buckley.
or
Jimmy Somerville in Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy
Junior Murvin - Police & Thieves
Reggae classic from the mid 70s. The Clash did a decent punk cover that’s arguably better known, but the original is magic.
And for that retro mood, of course … not real 60’s but sure feels like it: Portugal the Man
You said you want falsetto, and the drummer here has it going-on. In my, and others, opinion, this band has put out one of the best platters (American Love Call) to emerge this year. This stuff is a trip back to the past, but Durand and the boys keep things fresh. All of it’s not falsetto; Durand and Aaron will each add their own sound to various tracks. Durand Jones & The Indications - (Live on KEXP)
Here’s another example, highlighting the drummer’s voice, from Carson Daly’s show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obsykdatEwM
Love those Scissor Sisters. Though it’s not falsetto, or what the OP’s looking for, check out their performance of “Running Out” from David Letterman’s old show sometime; it really shows off their energetic chops.
A shout-out to Earth, Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey is way overdue.
With Earth, Wind & Fire:
“Reasons”
“Fantasy”
“That’s The Way of the World” (choruses only)
With Earth, Wind & Fire and the Three Degrees:
“Boogie Wonderland” (choruses only, if memory serves)
With Phil Collins:
“Easy Lover”
In the interstitial space between conventional classical and edgy avant-garde, I give you Klaus Nomi’s version of Purcell:
The Cold Song, from Purcell’s King Arthur
Leo Sayer - “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”
Some of my favorites have already been mentioned: Scissor Sisters and the Darkness.
How about pretty much everything Chris Isaak ever did? Here is his most famous:
Someone should also come up with a good example from one of Chris’s main influence: Roy Orbison. At least I think that what Roy did was falsetto, but it seems different to me…more like a natural range.
And then there’s this guy, who was famous (?) for about five minutes, but I don’t think you’d want it on a playlist.
I believe Zebra’s Randy Jackson back in the day would fit this falsetto request - for example in Tell Me What You Want, where he definitely goes just a bit high pitched at times.
I’m tempted to mention Geddy Lee of Rush, but can’t think of a good example off hand.