Jake E. Lee took a stand for his ‘Bark at the Moon’ credits – and no one stopped him

Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee disclosed that he openly discussed his songwriting contributions to the album “Bark at the Moon” despite an alleged contractual restriction that prohibited such disclosures, as per MetalInjection. He ultimately faced no repercussions for this breach.

During Ozzy Osbourne‘s solo career, the artist was supported by prominent musicians including Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley, Jake E. Lee, and Zakk Wylde. However, this period was also characterized by numerous legal disputes concerning songwriting credits and royalty allocations.

These conflicts have contributed to a complex and often contentious relationship among Osbourne, his management, and band members. The controversy specifically revolves around the 1983 album “Bark at the Moon”, which was officially credited solely to the Prince of Darkness.

Although Lee is associated with the album’s guitar work and composition, contractual limitations allegedly prevented him from publicly acknowledging his involvement. In a November 5 interview with Chris Jericho, Lee stated that he believed fans would not accept the official narrative regardless.

I figured that, okay, it’s gonna say, ‘All songs written by Ozzy Osbourne.’ Nobody’s gonna believe that. Anybody familiar with Ozzy knows he didn’t do that.

Lee acknowledged that a portion of his contractual agreement explicitly prohibited public disclosure of his songwriting contributions. However, following the album’s release, he soon disregarded this clause.

Once the album was out, the first interview I did—’Yeah, I wrote it!’. Not like I wrote the whole album, but yeah, I wrote parts.

Lee expressed that he felt assured in speaking openly, given that the circumstances were already evident to both fans and industry professionals.

So who you gonna believe? 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.