The One Big Thing That Prevented Jake E. Lee’s Reunion With Ozzy

As a replacement for Zakk Wylde was being sought in the late 2000s, guitarist Jake E. Lee was approached by Ozzy Osbourne’s manager and wife, Sharon, about a reunion. He considered the offer, but there was one big thing he said needed to happen before coming back, which prevented his return.

Firewind’s Gus G. famously landed the role, joining Ozzy’s band in 2009, later departing in 2017 having played on one record — 2010’s Scream. The album was produced and co-written by Kevin Churko, who later inspired Lee to form the band Red Dragon Cartel.

Lee’s 2010s comments on the attempted reunion have just resurfaced via BraveWords and a previous interview conducted by author Martin Popoff.

Jake E. Lee on Being Approached to Rejoin Ozzy Osbourne

“Well, I’d gotten a call from Sharon, and being Sharon, she actually managed to find me. She tracked my phone number because I swear there were maybe a handful of people that had my phone number. Somehow she called me at home and she told me that Ozzy was having problems with Zakk and they were looking to replace him and if I’d be interested in doing some festivals and quite possibly the next record,” the guitarist recalled.

Lee, who played on Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin before being replaced by Wylde, said he was “interested” in reclaiming his role, noting his absence from the metal scene, “I haven’t don’t anything like that in a long time.”

Jake E. Lee’s Big Stipulation to Rejoin

He continued, “I can’t let sleeping dogs lie. I said if we’re going to go forward, I want to fix the one problem I’ve had since the very beginning. I said I would like my name on the songwriting credits for Bark At The Moon.”

Although he was a major contributor on Ozzy’s third album, he is not properly credited for the songs he claims to have written. In 2014, Lee said to SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk that, when he joined in 1983, he was told he would receive credit and publishing rights to any songs he wrote.

The guitarist further told Popoff that he wrote “everything except for ‘So Tired,'” and that he “always hated that song because I didn’t write it.”

READ MORE: 8 Times Musicians Were Credited on Albums They Didn’t Actually Play On

Jake E. Lee Not Chasing the Money

While writing credits also mean royalties, Lee insisted that he’s not chasing the money and simply wanted to be credited for his work on an important album in metal’s history.

“I don’t want any retroactive payment. I don’t want any future payment. I don’t want to make a penny off of it. I just… it would just be nice to have my name on this stuff that I wrote. And I said if we can get past that, I’ll sign an agreement where I don’t ever make a penny on any of it. I just want my name on it,” Lee said regarding the potential late 2000s return.

“I said if we can get past that, then we can talk further about whether or not I can do this or not,” he went on, “And [Sharon] said she’d call me back the next day and she didn’t. So I took that as a no.”