Wow. You guys are really coming through for me. Appreciated.

I tend to agree with Nostatic's advice, at least somewhat. I don't want to get into icon territory. Then again, I do want to follow Nostatic's other advice and do material that speaks to me. Lighthearted is very good, and I am also not afraid to do "meaningful" as long as it's not hallowed icon territory. I cannot do Neil Young anyway.....he''s out of my range. So is My Sweet Lady, really. I have about a five-note range, and none of those notes are the slightest bit high. My voice sits in the cusp between bari and tenor. Sadly.

I would reiterate Cat Stevens... easy vocal range... some love songs... some philosophical... mostly easy chords.

Unless you don't like his stuff.

This is always a fun and easy one. Kind of follows along in the same vein as "Apeman".
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Recently picked up my a bass after giving up my telecaster a few years ago. Played with some guys just the other night. The song that worked the best for me... suits my voice and has a nice catchy and uncomplicated baseline was Wilson pickets "Mustang Sally". And its even got an automobile theme in there somewhere!!

I'd love to do Lola. Seriously. Everybody loves that song. It's a masterpiece.

Yes, I am looking at Cat Stevens, thanks.

Mustang Sally.......don't know how to tell you this, but that song is controversial among bass players. I'm not sure why, but guys tend to snicker at that song. You know what I think would be fun to play along the same lines.....Rock and Roll Pneumonia and Boogey Woogie Flu. Ridiculously simple and boring but you know...I'm not sure I can think of a song more dominated by the bass line.

Yes, but when everyone gets up and dances for you it still makes ya feel good. Plus as a true bass beginner its a nice simple yet controlling base line that really mad ME feel pretty dam cool!!!!!
Whatever you do be sure to have fun and keep the music alive!!
GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!!!
(PS, great suggestion on Boogie Woogie Flu! Never have played it but would be fun for sure!)

This is part of a larger philosophical discussion. I had a revelation (multiple actually) during/after Bass/Nature camp this year. Having gigged on and off for coming up on 4 decades, there are some tunes I've played *a lot*. Those of us that have done the cover/wedding/event band thing know the usual suspects, and many that I know dread playing them. I had my "least favorite" tunes as well, though my list is a little tempered due to the fact that I played a lot of these on guitar for years, then when I switched over to bass I played mostly jazz, so now when those tunes get called and I'm on bass it isn't quite as "old".

That said, before camp I certainly would get that little feeling in my stomach when "Mustang Sally," "Johnny B. Goode," etc would get called. But I realized that my job as a bass player is to get people dancing. Bass can own and drive the groove. And frankly there is nothing cooler than getting people dancing by using only your fingers.

The other aspect that I figured out (with a lot of help) is that another job of the bass player (and any musician) is to elevate everyone around you. I should be playing lines that serve the song and enable the drummer to play better, the guitarist to play better, etc.

So when you combine the above two aspects of playing, there are no boring songs. Every night is different, and you can never "perfect" creating a pocket and elevating the rest of the band. So there always is something to learn. I don't cringe when Mustang Sally gets called - I want to play that so I can do it better than the last time and make it sublime.

The other thing that Victor said that has stuck with me: you cannot perform at your highest level if you have something to prove.

Indeed. Sure, there is nothing like the power and control you have as the bassist. We look down at the other instruments, not in a condescending way, but we just know that, try as they might, they cannot have the impact we have. The guitarist cannot fuk up a song as thoroughly as we can. They also cannot tie the instruments together and create the groove we can.

And yeah, playing a Mustang Sally or Johnny B. Goode can be viewed as boring but as bassists we are still responsible for much more than just G-C-D or E-A-B. Every performing musician knows that synergy happens. Sometimes you're just playing along, doing your part and you look up and there happens to occur a connection or two with other band members and suddenly the band is doing this thing that surprises everyone, especially the band members. Nostatic mentioned that financially, gigging pays for your gas. We don't do it for the money. The adoring fans and nekkid young women throwing themselves at our feet.....that's a nice perq, but really, we're doing it for those moments. Those moments when something magic happens. And when it does, as a bassist, you're standing there in the center of the circle, like the hub of a wheel, tying it all together. Some musicians report that those moments are better than sex. I say those guys probably don't have the sexual powers I have but I understand their sentiment.

I am so dam new to it that any single time I finish even the most simple song I kinda have "that moment!"
Thanks for backing down and not making me feel like the biggest wanker on song choice !!!!!!
Not to hijack the thread guys.... but what are some good songs for a beginner to move on to?

Iron Man. Worked for me.

Really just any song you want. The Internet offers tablatures, so you can jot down the notes then play the CD and jam away. I'm doing plenty of that. Got clear through the Van Morrison stuff, did a few others, now I'm chewing my way through The Robert Johnson Sessions by Clapton. Kind Hearted Woman, Clapton's version, would be a good one. Slow, and follows the standard 1-4-5 blues progression. It's slow enough you could play around a bit. Get that walking bass thing going. Just learn the major and blues scales, and whatever notes you play mosts of the time will sound good, as long as you return "home" when you're supposed to hit that A or D or whatever. Have a couple of beers for courage and creativity.

A great, largely overlooked Van Morrison album is, "Poetic Champions Compose".

There are some incredible songs on that album in your range.

In my five-note range? I'll check it out.

I gotta thank whoever posted the YouTube link to the short-haired, tie-dyed guy doing Sam Cooke's "Bring It To Me." That's an EASY song with lots of traction. 'Specially in the harmonica-rich environment in which I will perform it.