“I became a better player because I had to follow Randy Rhoads”: How Jake E. Lee found fame with Ozzy

On 15 October it was reported that Jake E. Lee, former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, had been shot multiple times in an apparently random incident in Las Vegas. His management stated: “Lee is fully conscious and doing well in an intensive care unit at a Las Vegas hospital. He is expected to fully recover. Las Vegas authorities believe the shooting was completely random and occurred while Lee took his dog out for a walk in the early morning hours.”

Ozzy issued his own statement via TMZ: “It’s been 37 years since I’ve seen Jake E. Lee, but that still doesn’t take away from the shock of hearing what happened to him today. It’s just another senseless act of gun violence. I send my thoughts to him and his beautiful daughter, Jade. I just hope he’ll be ok.”

Jake was a member of Ozzy’s band between 1982 and 1987, and played on two multi-platinum albums, Bark At The Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986).

Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon (Official Music Video) - YouTube

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He was hired by Ozzy in the aftermath of a tragedy. On 19 March 1982, Ozzy’s guitarist Randy Rhoads was killed in a plane crash in Florida during a US tour. That tour was completed with two guitarists: first, Bernie Torme (ex-Gillan) and then Brad Gillis of Night Ranger. But in late ’82 Ozzy sought a permanent replacement for Rhoads, and as Jake recalled in an interview with Classic Rock, he got the job in a surprising turn of events.

At this stage, Jake was well known on the LA rock circuit, having played briefly in Ratt and Rough Cutt. He’d also been approached by Mötley Crüe (he claimed that they wanted him as either a replacement for guitarist Mick Mars or to make them a two-guitar band). And he’d been in an early line-up of Dio, led by Ronnie James Dio, the singer who had replaced Ozzy in Black Sabbath in 1979.

Jake sent a tape and a photo to Ozzy’s wife and manager, Sharon. He then heard on the LA grapevine that George Lynch, the guitarist for Dokken, had joined Ozzy on tour to rehearse during soundchecks. “George had got the gig,” Jake recalled. “Everybody knew it.”

But when Ozzy’s tour reached LA, an audition for Jake was held at a rehearsal studio. As soon as it was done, Ozzy offered him the gig. Jake, incredulous, said yes. A minute later, George Lynch breezed into the room, oblivious to what had just gone down. According to Jake, Ozzy simply turned to Lynch and said flatly: “It’s gone. You’ve lost it.” Pointing to Jake, he announced: “He’s the new guitar player.” And with that he walked away.

“I did feel bad,” Jake admitted, “but not as bad as I felt good. And at least I had an early experience of how Ozzy fires people.”

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Jake was eventually fired in 1987, to be replaced by Zakk Wylde. But as Jake told Classic Rock, he remained grateful for the time he had with Ozzy. “It was amazing,” he said.

And most of all, he felt that following in the footsteps of Randy Rhoads had made him raise his own game. “I realised that those were big shoes to fill,” he said. “Randy was the best guitar player since Eddie Van Halen. But I was a good player. I just became a better player because I had to follow Randy.”