Okay so I'm a brand new guitar player, I played piano for a few years but that was a while ago. I feel like I know most of the basics, although by no means do I have them mastered. I've went through the beginner section here and have seen plenty of other beginner tutorials on DVD and other websites. And I'm just kind of at a loss for what to do now.

First, my main goal and really only desire for playing guitar is simply be able to sit down with some friends and play a few popular songs. I have NO want to make my own riffs or really even perform, this is simply another hobby I would like to take up. That being said, the only thing I really want to do is learn some popular songs by classic rock bands. Not really any metal or anything like that, although I enjoy it. I would just like to sit down and play some Back in Black or Sweet home Alabama. That being said, I have a few other questions as well:

-Why would I need/want to learn scales? To my knowledge, the only need for this would be if I wanted to write my own riffs (explained above) or do some improv soloing, but as a beginner I don't plan on shredding solos any time soon. Sort of the same question for theory.
-Now, I'm not saying I think I'm going to simply start off by playing Back in Black or Sweet home Alabama, but I"m all about instant gratification, again, my main goal is to play songs, is there anywhere I can go where I can learn some simple songs, and gradually move up to more difficult and fun songs like those?
-In relation, can you recommend a few easy classic rock songs to start practicing?

Again, I'm just looking for some advice, I apologize for the long read but I would really just like to know a few things before I lose interest. Thanks very much for reading and hopefully answering some of my questions :)