Born in 1954, the Gibson J-160 is one of the first electro-acoustic guitars ever made, featuring a P-90 pickup at the neck. It is also the only guitar to appear on every Beatles album, from Please Please Me to Abbey Road, and beyond.
When it was introduced in 1954, the Gibson J-160E was a revolutionary instrument: a dreadnought acoustic guitar fitted with a P-90 pickup at the neck and two controls (volume and tone) mounted directly on the soundboard. It was one of the very first true electro-acoustic guitars in history.
On 10 September 1962, just days after signing with EMI, John Lennon and George Harrison bought two identical Gibson J-160Es from Rushworth’s Music House in Liverpool, for around £161 each (serial #73161 for John and #73157 for George). The guitars were delivered to London for the first Please Please Me sessions and quickly became an essential part of the Beatles’ sound. They can be heard on tracks such as Love Me Do, Please Please Me and P.S. I Love You.
However, in December 1963, during the Finsbury Park Christmas Show, John’s J-160E went missing after being left behind by roadie Mal Evans, who later recalled the episode as one of the most embarrassing moments of his early days with the band. Lennon liked to tease him: “Mal, you can have your job back when you find my guitar”.
Not long after, Gibson sent John a replacement — another identical J-160E. This new guitar became John’s main acoustic instrument and, in 1967, during the Sgt. Pepper era, he had it painted with psychedelic designs by the Dutch art collective The Fool — a modification that somewhat dulled its acoustic tone. John temporarily turned to his Martin D-28 and eventually had the J-160E restored to its natural finish. Fond of the instrument, he continued to use it extensively during his solo period, including the bed-in and the Imagine sessions.
George, meanwhile, gradually switched to his Gibson J-200, but his J-160E is still part of the Harrison family collection today. Interestingly, serial numbers and sales records suggest that the guitar now in George’s possession is actually the one originally sold to John (#73161), implying that the two instruments were “swapped” before the incident and that the stolen guitar was probably George’s.
Final note: after being missing for more than fifty years, the lost Gibson resurfaced in 2014 in San Diego, where it had been unknowingly kept by a local musician. Authenticated by Andy Babiuk, it was auctioned the following year for over $2.4 million.
The one in our photo is an Epiphone EJ-160E, a Limited Edition inspired by the original Gibson and dedicated to John Lennon. You can spot it in our videos of Back in the USSR and We Can Work It Out.
