BIg Al: you can leave that E7 in bar 2 out if you like, you don't actually need it. But believe me, search the world's recorded archives and I'll bet you 99.9% of recordings of the song have that chord in!It gives the smooth transition to A7 which to me(and to the guy who wrote the tune)is an integral part of the piece.
The easiest version of the Eflat if you don't use barre or jazz fingerings is to play the C7 shape on the inside 4 strings, taken up 3 frets. This gives you a perfect Eflat7.