The first song I ever learned to play was actually two old folk songs:  Deep Blue Sea and Oh Mary, Don't you Weep.  The first cool song I learned was Mr. Tambourine Man.  I was 11 or 12 in summer camp.  A counselor taught the song to me and one of my bunk mates.  The two of us stayed up to the wee hours of the morning playing it over and over and over again.
 
As for bad Dead tunes, IMHO, Money, Money, France, and Antwerp's Placebo can give Let Me Sing Your Blues Away some serious competition.
 
Bill, tgo

Just watched the Little Feat concert that Ed Z linked.  Great band!  And it's great to see them essentially playing Waiting For Columbus.

I got confused there for a moment; I thought Wolf was saying that the first song he learned to play was Mozart's Sonata for violin and piano in G major.
 
My vague recollection of a first song is Pipeline, in 1964.  Very vague recollection.

Smoke On The Water.
 
Got my first bass for Christmas when I was 15; my grandfather was there - he was a well rounded musician, huge Eubie Blake fan he would drive my grandmother nuts banging out ragtime songs.  He also played ukulele and harmonica.  I unwrapped the bass, fumbled around and found the notes for Smoke.  I think he was pleased.
 
I now am the caretaker of his old upright piano, cigarette burn on the bench.  I need to learn how to play some ragtime on it in his honor . . .

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun was always good for extended jams as a teen.
...Love me some good phrygian

Dave: My argument with LMSYBA is the singing &, especially, the lyrics. You're right on the Jazz is Dead version; very nice.
 
Bill:  OK, point taken.  Those do, indeed, drink through a straw with great force.
 
It being Saturday, I spent my workday with NPR; Car Talk, Wait Wait, This American Life, 2 local shows (Sound Opinions, with the rock critics from the Tribune & Sun-Times [bozos both] and Saturday Blues).  When I got home, for Her sake (not that I minded) the James Taylor channel on Pandora.
 
Now I think I'll ease myself to sleep with a little Paul Horn
 
Peter

Dave my friend , I am paying atention ! I only wish that I had that kind of talent at the age of eight !  Most likely on the piano at eight I was playing just scales .  The scales however were building blocks for my future musical evolution !   The ultimate publication of the such would be the  Thesaurus of Scales And  Melodic Patterns By Nicolas Slonimsky     This was publication that John Coltrane  and JACO used and learned to jam better  with. _ I love scales & modes ! It is  Jam band material ______ ... ... ... ...  
 
Wolf

Vincenzo  Maurogiovanni   ----SIX STRING Bass master !  
 
  Check out his hand technique !    This guy is amazing  
.
https://www.youtube.com/user/viz76/videos
 
 
  Wolf

Peter; the Paul Horn piece is beautiful.  Thanks!

I just watched the Anoushka Shankar concert that Elwood linked.  Wonderful!

I just got tickets to see her in April, that's gonna be fun!
Glad you saw that...she's amazing.

She is amazing indeed; and the band in the video was tight.  And the non-traditional stuff was really nice.  It's great that you're going to get to see her.

Another gem from Fiddlin' Brit, with Jordan Tice on guitar. (and apparently a string deal with D'Addario)
 

 
Do not miss the awesome power of a rest at 2:20...

Just bought my son some tickets to see David Lindley in Eugene as an Xmas gift and found several Youtube clips of a show we saw together in Iowa last April.  
 

Just got back from seeing Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers playing acoustic at a tiny 185 seat theater.  Great show!
 
Bill, tgo