John Lennon’s 1964 Gibson J-160E acoustic guitar used during the recording of “Give Peace A Chance” and during John & Yoko’s bed-in has quite the history long before John drew the caricatures of him and Yoko on it to commemorate the Amsterdam and Montreal Bed-ins for Peace.
The guitar started off as an original Sunburst 1964 Gibson J-160E (below). Serial #64309.
Then in 1967, John commissioned artists Simon and Marijke Posthuma, a.k.a. The Fool who removed the pick guard and gave the guitar a psychedelic paint job for The Beatles “All You Need Is Love” satellite broadcast.
Lennon then had the paint job professionally stripped and replaced the pickguard. The last time the guitar was seen in action was during the “Bed-ins for Peace” and thats when Lennon drew the caricatures onto the guitar.
The guitar complete with Lennon’s art was put on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on loan from the Lennon Estate.
