The historic “Back to the Beginning” Black Sabbath farewell concert was a night of unforgettable performances and star-studded backstage moments, but for guitarist Jake E. Lee, one experience stood out above the rest: playing Kirk Hammett’s legendary Greeny Les Paul. In an exclusive interview with Guitar World, Lee shared his awe of the iconic guitar, joking that he almost wishes he’d never played it because it left such a lasting impression.
“I can confirm that it’s a magical piece of wood,” Lee said of the Greeny Les Paul, a guitar first made famous by Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, later owned by Gary Moore, and now in the hands of Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. “I didn’t want to put it down – didn’t want to leave it. I’ve missed it ever since! It’s so resonant; it just sings.”
The backstage scene at the blockbuster event was a who’s-who of rock royalty, offering a rare chance for musicians to reconnect or meet for the first time. For Lee, it was an opportunity to catch up with his former boss, Ozzy Osbourne, and to get his hands on one of the most storied instruments in rock history. The Greeny Les Paul, renowned for its mythical middle-position tone, has become one of Hammett’s most cherished guitars, despite his initial reluctance to purchase it.
“I almost wish I’d never played it,” Lee laughed, before adding, “Nah – I’m glad I got to bask in its magic, if for just a while.”
While Lee’s backstage encounter with Greeny stole the spotlight, his onstage performance was equally compelling, despite health issues forcing him to adapt on the fly. He wielded a striking Charvel guitar with a deep purple burst finish, a nod to his days with Ozzy Osbourne. Lee revealed the guitar’s intriguing origins, explaining that it was a custom creation sparked by his desire to see Charvel reissue his classic purple burst model.
“In the Ozzy days, I had my white one, a purple burst, and a blue burst,” Lee shared. “Charvel reissued the white and blue ones, and I’ve been hassling them about getting the purple burst out there. So when this came up, I said, ‘What better promo would there be than for me to come out with a purple burst and have people start asking about it?’ So they made me one.”
The custom Charvel, Lee noted, is a unique beast. “It’s a Gibson-scale length, with jumbo frets up to the 12th and then thinner frets above that,” he explained. “I can get a little more meat on the string and a little more wood underneath. It’s a roasted maple neck, and the body – I think they call it ‘cooked ash,’ so it’s lighter, and they get all the moisture out of it.”
The combination of Lee’s onstage charisma and the mystique of the Greeny Les Paul has left fans buzzing, with many now clamoring for Charvel to officially release the purple burst model. As for Lee, the memory of playing Greeny lingers. “It’s a magical guitar,” he reiterated, cementing its place as one of rock’s most revered instruments.
