Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee has revealed that he once openly discussed his songwriting contributions to Bark at the Moon — despite an alleged contract that prohibited him from doing so — and ultimately suffered no consequences.
Throughout Ozzy Osbourne‘s solo career, the Prince of Darkness was famously surrounded by elite musicians, from Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley to Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde. At the same time, that era was marked by a series of legal disputes, particularly involving songwriting credits and royalties. Those conflicts have long painted a complicated picture of the professional relationships between Osbourne, his management, and members of his band.
In Lee‘s case, the controversy centers on 1983’s Bark at the Moon, an album officially credited as being written entirely by Ozzy Osbourne. Lee has long been associated with the record’s guitar work and composition, though contractual restrictions allegedly barred him from publicly acknowledging his role.
Speaking to Chris Jericho in a November 5 interview (via Ultimate Guitar), Lee explained that he never believed fans would accept the official narrative anyway: “I figured that, okay, it’s gonna say, ‘All songs written by Ozzy Osbourne.’ Nobody’s gonna believe that,” Lee said, laughing. “Anybody familiar with Ozzy knows he didn’t do that.”
Lee admitted that part of his contract explicitly stated he could never publicly discuss his songwriting contributions. However, once the album was released, that clause quickly slipped his mind: “Once the album was out, the first interview I did—’Yeah, I wrote it!'” Lee recalled. “Not like I wrote the whole album, but yeah, I wrote parts.”
Lee said he felt confident speaking openly because the situation was already apparent to fans and industry insiders alike. “So who you gonna believe?” he asked. “Because I figured, by then, I was on the album, tour was being set up. They’re not gonna fire me because I opened my mouth to say something that was obvious.”
Enter your information below to get a daily update with all of our headlines and receive The Orchard Metal newsletter.
