What's the first song you ever learned to play on guitar?

[Robert]

For me, I think it was a KISS song, because my best friend at the time started playing guitar before me and he was a big fan of KISS. He taught me a few chords and some KISS songs. I can't remember which one it was though. Geez, I was only 13 at the time, can't expect the old brain to remember all the details I guess. I do remember learning "House Of The Rising Sun" around that age though.

[just strum]

As I scoot up to the table to eat some crow - Hendrix version (sort of) of the Star Spangled Banner.

[tunghaichuan]

"B*tch School" by Spinal Tap. :rotflmao:

tung

[Algonquin]

I have no clue whatsoever :confused: ... Heck, I can barely remember what the last tune I learned was ;)
It was likely some rawkin tune like "Au Clair de la Lune" :rockon: (Seriously :cry: )

[marnold]

"Country Roads" by John Denver

[Lev]

Eleanor Rigby - My sister had a Beatles book with chord diagrams and it looked the easiest to get my 12 year old fingers around.

[Teleblaster]

"Shady Lane" by Pavement

[Childbride]

shiner had just convinced me to play, and had just started his night job teaching law at a local community college. i lost the nails on my left hand.

he taught me a couple of chords.

there was a movie we owned with a haunting, haunting song. it moved me. the lyrics gave me shivers.

donnie darko.

gary jules' mad world.

i would play those chords on his D10s for the three hours he was teaching, over and over.

and then it began.

[R_of_G]

Albuquerque by Neil Young

[hubberjub]

Peter Gun.

[jasongins]

White Room - Cream (sans the solo)

[duhvoodooman]

Louie Louie, like most of us mid-60's teenagers. Followed closely thereafter by House of the Rising Sun.

[sunvalleylaw]

"Leaving on a Jet Plane" by John Denver

[Algonquin]

Thinking back, it may may been the intro to Chicago's 25 or 6 to 4. Not the whole tune, just the intro.

[rkwrenn]

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"

By Robbie Robertson. I learned the version recorded by The Band.

Cheers,

Bob

[street music]

I think that I learned the chords to Down On the Corner and Smoke on the Water about the same time. House of The Rising Sun came next.

[wingsdad]

My older cousin taught me my first stuff. He'd given me his $15 Sears acoustic with about 3" high action and I got nowhere. Then I got a $60 Chicago Harmony 3/4 size 2 pickup solid body. But had no amp.

I was 11, he was 14, a lefty playing a Sears Sivertone Danelectro upside down (strung righty), thru a little Silvertone tube amp, 12" speaker.

We both plugged into that Sears amp and I'm not really sure what came first, cuz he would just fire licks off and my jaw would flap open and watch, trying to figure out WTF was going on upside down. But I'm pretty sure the first licks I learned were Duane Eddy things, all really simple single-string stuff basically confined to the low 3 strings...'Rebel Rouser' sticks out...I know the other stuff he laid on me were Del Shannon 'Runaway', and a boatload of Surf instrumentals...Ventures 'Walk Don't Run'....'Pipeline'...'Wipe Out'...'Apache'...'Wild Weekend' .... and Chet Atkins' version of 'Under The Double Eagle'. Lonnie Mack's version of 'Memphis'. Stuff like that.

EDIT: geez...almost forgot...hubberjub's 'Peter Gunn' movie theme was in that mix, too...

Then he got me into Chuck Berry. So when the Beatles hit, I already knew how to play George's take on 'Roll Over Beethoven'.

[Andy]

House of the rising sun - The Animals.

[thearabianmage]

I started out with the opening to Stairway to Heaven, but the first full song I learned was For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica) followed closely by the entirety of Crazy Train (Ozzy & Randy). It was an entire 9 months after first picking up the guitar before I could play that solo up to speed.

[Steve206]

Jamaican Farewell, as sung by Harry Belafonte on one of my mother's records. She showed me the chords but it was not the beatles or the stones, so I saw no need to continue.

And yeah, the Peter Gunn and those Ventures tunes were briefly around.

Steve

[Tibernius]

"Buck Rogers" by Feeder, closely followed by "Brain Stew" by Green Day.

[pes_laul]

sweet madame blue by styx. either that lonely day by system of a down:confused:

[peachhead]

Melissa.

[guitrkill3r]

actually was the simpson's theme song

[rugbynyc]

Every Rose Has it's Thorn...god thats embarassing...

but considering how many drunken nights in college I played that song to some girl utlimately very useful:AOK:

[Geraint Jones]

I think at about the age of ten i picked up my Dad`s cheap spanish guitar that every house had in the seventies and played a one string version of the Deer Hunter , did`nt pick up another guitar for 8 years and never quite got round to learning it properly.

[Rocket]

I'm not positive but I think the first song I learned for myself was Troggs-Love Is All Around (D, Em, G, A)... although I had been playing C&W progressions, (with little interest,) with my mom and her friends long before that.

I am sure the first song set I performed was CCR-Long As I Can See The Light followed by Neil Young-Helpless.

[ted s]

I think my first real song after Mel Bay-itis as a kid was Hotel California.

[Dreadman]

Iron Man! Followed shortly by Paranoid. :rockon:

[Dreadman]

I am sure the first song set I performed was CCR-Long As I Can See The Light followed by Neil Young-Helpless.
Two great tunes! How old were you then? Is that what you were into?

[Suhnton]

Maybe Knockin' On Heaven's Door (The Clapton version).

[Rocket]

Two great tunes! How old were you then? Is that what you were into?
14-15-ish.
I really wasn't set on any genre, (except NOT C&W)... just played what I could and what my friends played. Shortly after that point I hooked up with my first band and played rock-O-the-day.

[Kazz]

Mainly riffs from songs, but the first full length song that I could play along to was Pink Floyd's Wish You Were H

[Squireman131]

the first song i remember playing is smoke on the water on bass, and i took the initiative to learn a really long song called in keeping secrets of silent earth 3 on guitar for my first song. still have IKSOSE3 in my usual playing cycle.

[SweetSong]

Here Without You by 3 doors Down. That's the first one that sounded ok anyway.

[diffra]

I don't remember the first 'song' but the first lick was the intro to 'ode' by creed. Man, i thought that was badass at the time.

[Disraeli]

It was either House of the rising sun or Sunshine of your love, can't quite remember.

[Fardeen]

Hmm... my first ever song (or part of it, at least) would be the intro from Fear Of The Dark. I learnt it off a Guitar Pro tab and was ecstatic afterwards at being able to play one of the most well-known tunes of our time. Do I sound like a seasoned veteran? Hehe, I only picked up the guitar 10 months ago! :D

[bigoldron]

It was "Red River Valley" from the old Mel Bay books. My Dad had bought himself a Yamaha acoustic (wish I still had it :() and the Mel Bay book and between the book and a friend of his helping him, he was going to "learn how to play guitar". Well, he gave up in a couple of months, but my brother and I both learned a few chords and songs from that book.

He finally sold the Yamaha and bought my brother and I our first electrics, which I also have much regrets for getting rid of later on. :(

[TS808]

Other than the songs from the old Mel Bay books, the first rock song I learned (and this REALLY shows my age!) was "American Pie"...I'm guessing I was around 10 years old??

[Tarin]

The one that started it all.. "that's alright mamma" Elvis.

[Andy]

My earliest memory of a song is "Secret agent man" atleast the 2 string riff, and eventually enough chords for "House of the rising sun" thanks to mel bay ofcourse

[markb]

Either Streets of London or House of the Rising Sun. It was so long ago.

[mcgreggor57]

Amazing Grace.

[Rocket]

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/RocketWorks/th_AmazingGrace.jpg (http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/RocketWorks/?action=view&current=AmazingGrace.flv)

[Andy]

Rocket ,thats sounds Really good, and nice playing as well !

[Rocket]

Rocket ,thats sounds Really good, and nice playing as well !
Just to make this clear... that's not me! I can't play one of those.

[Spudman]

Taps was the first song that I played on guitar. My folks were military.:o

[sunvalleylaw]

Taps was the first song that I played on guitar. My folks were military.:o

Get out the Peavey Mace, dime that thing, and pound out Reveille with a full distortion chain running. That'll get those girls at your house moving on a Saturday morning. ;)

[Spudman]

Get out the Peavey Mace, dime that thing, and pound out Reveille with a full distortion chain running. That'll get those girls at your house moving on a Saturday morning. ;)

They'd kill me and PMS me for the rest of my life.

[marnold]

They'd kill me and PMS me for the rest of my life.
And they won't anyway?

[peachhead]

And they won't anyway?

my thoughts exactly :bravo: :rotflmao:

[markb]

And they won't anyway?

And you a man of the cloth ... :)

[thekiwidisciple]

Hey Ya - Outkast

[birv2]

Not sure about the first, but the first three were:

1. Opening riff from Secret Agent Man (coolest ever).

2. Mr Tambourine Man (not the scary difficult Byrds riff, though:) )

3. House of the Rising Sun (of course).

I'm sure a musical archeologist will be able to pin down my exact age from the above.

Bob

[kiteman]

My very first song(s) were those from "Play Along With The Ventures" album I got along with an F-holed acoustic guitar for Xmas when I was 10.

I learned two of the 4 songs on the album. If I remembered right they were Pipeline and Honky Tonk.

At age 16 I'm in a surf band. :)

[Monkus]

The Wedding Song by Peter, Paul and Mary *sheesh*. I was 15 and a chick in my church choir wanted to do it for a wedding with guitar. My dad had a guitar in his closet so I "stole" it. The cassette that she lent me to work it out had a skip for about 5 seconds. I could never hear that song without hearing the skip in my mind. Turned out well though.

[cherokee747]

Early Beatles stuff. Mike

[tyoc]

Nothing else matters, Metallica.

[player]

Actually if memory serves lol.it was the secret agent man,riff,Batman.did not have a Play Along With The Ventures album but had a Ventures album the was learned entirely.think the first entire song played without looking or listening at it was Walk Don't Run.the others followed suit.it was a loooooong time ago,oh and house of the rising sun came about the same time or shortly thereafter.became a good song to practice and warm up with not to mention put in the band at the time's(age 13) set.was 11 when started playing around with a guitar.Kay I believe it was.acoustic of course.first electric at 12 :D

[scgmhawk]

One of these 3 "rockin" songs: Puff the Magic Dragon, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Au Claire De La Lune. Thankfully, I don't know any of these anymore!