Jake E. Lee has revealed that he felt like a “footnote” in Ozzy Osbourne’s legacy until he performed at the singer’s final show, Back to the Beginning.
During a recent interview with the Talk Is Jericho podcast (as per Louder Sound), the 68-year-old guitarist explained how participating in Ozzy’s retirement concert transformed his perspective after years of feeling forgotten.
“It was a great week for me,” Lee stated. “Maybe one of the best weeks of my life. I came in there feeling kind of like a footnote, maybe even an almost forgotten footnote: ‘Oh, yeah, we’ll throw him in there too.’ But everybody treated me so respectfully and [there was] encouragement and support from everybody. It made me feel special.”
The guitarist’s sense of being overlooked stemmed from his minimal presence in Ozzy-related media. “I’m not mentioned much in documentaries and things about Ozzy. At the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, you know, not a photo,” he explained.
Lee joined Ozzy’s solo band in December 1982, nine months after Randy Rhoads died in a plane crash. He contributed to two albums, Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986), before being dismissed in 1987. Despite this significant period in Ozzy’s career, Lee felt his contributions had been largely forgotten.
The invitation to Back to the Beginning came from Tom Morello, the event’s musical director. “When Tom called, I didn’t know why,” Lee recalled. “I’d never met him before, but when he called me he said, ‘I can’t imagine doing this without you.’ Hmm, really? Cool! I’m in!”
The show took place at Birmingham’s Villa Park football stadium, featuring Metallica, Slayer, Guns N’ Roses, Gojira, and Mastodon before Ozzy’s final performances. Lee appeared as part of an all-star supergroup, performing “The Ultimate Sin” and “Shot in the Dark” alongside former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin, and Ozzy’s keyboardist Adam Wakeman. Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale sang “The Ultimate Sin” while Disturbed’s David Draiman handled vocals for “Shot in the Dark”.
The performance marked Lee’s first large-scale public appearance since being shot outside his Las Vegas home in October 2024. Three bullets struck the guitarist, with one passing through his right forearm, requiring intensive care treatment. The incident continues to affect his playing, causing discomfort after extended guitar sessions and forcing him to retrain his picking technique.
Ozzy died at his Buckinghamshire home on July 22nd, just 17 days after Back to the Beginning. Lee paid tribute on social media, writing: “The finality of it hits me in waves.”
