Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee has opened up about the controversial contract surrounding the iconic 1983 album Bark at the Moon, admitting he quickly disregarded a clause forbidding him from publicly claiming songwriting credits – and faced zero repercussions.
In a candid November 2025 interview on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast, Lee recounted how he believed fans would never buy the official story that Ozzy wrote the entire album solo. “I figured that, okay, it’s gonna say, ‘All songs written by Ozzy Osbourne.’ Nobody’s gonna believe that,” Lee said with a laugh. “Anybody familiar with Ozzy knows he didn’t do that.”
The album, Ozzy’s fourth solo effort and Lee’s debut with the Prince of Darkness following Randy Rhoads’ tragic death, remains officially credited solely to Osbourne. However, Lee has long maintained he contributed significantly to the music, alongside bassist Bob Daisley.
According to Lee, after completing recording, he was presented with a contract stripping him of any writing or publishing rights – and explicitly barring him from ever discussing his contributions publicly.
“One part of the contract was that I could never publicly discuss how I’d written anything on there,” he explained.
But as soon as the album hit shelves, Lee threw caution to the wind. In his very first post-release interview, he spilled the details: “Yeah, I wrote it! Not like I wrote the whole album, but yeah, I wrote [some parts].”
Lee reasoned that by then, with the record out and tours planned, the Osbourne camp wouldn’t risk firing him over an “obvious” truth. “Who you gonna believe? … They’re not gonna fire me because I opened my mouth to say something that was obvious. And, yeah, they didn’t.”
This isn’t the first time credit disputes have shadowed Ozzy’s early solo career. Similar battles involving Daisley and others highlight the often tense dynamics managed by Ozzy’s wife and longtime manager, Sharon Osbourne.
Lee’s revelations come amid a reflective period for the guitarist, who recently reunited with Ozzy for emotional performances. Fans continue to praise Lee’s blistering riffs on classics like the title track, cementing Bark at the Moon as a heavy metal staple that has sold millions worldwide.
The full Talk Is Jericho episode, titled “Jake E. Lee – The Untold Ozzy Osbourne Stories & Near-Death Shooting,” dives deeper into Lee’s time with Ozzy, including auditions, tours, and more untold tales.
