According to John Lennon's original receipt from Rushworths, he took delivery of his new sunburst colored J-160E on September 10th, 1962. During a special ceremony hosted by Rushworths, John and George were presented with their new Gibson J-160E guitars by Mr. John Rushworth himself. This event was photographed by Peter Kaye. The photo was later published in the Mersey Beat newspaper with the caption "John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles, seen at Rushworths when they received their Gibson guitars--the only ones of their type in the country--which were specially flown to England by jet from America."

The very next day, at EMI Abbey Road Studio Two London, Lennon used his Gibson J-160E to record the Beatles' first single "Love Me Do." It was released on October 5th, 1962, in the UK on Parlophone Records. This was the Beatles' first 45, launching the Fab Four onto the British charts, and it was the sound of the Gibson J-160E that helped to get them there.

For the remainder of 1962 and throughout 1963, John Lennon continued to use his Gibson J-160E guitar exclusively for further Beatles recordings, television appearances and live performances. Unfortunately, in the early part of December 1963, Lennon's J-160E was stolen and was never recovered. Without his personal Gibson "jumbo," John would often use George Harrison's J-160E. It was George's J-160E that John used in the film "A Hard Day's Night."