GUITARIST JAKE E. LEE DISCUSSES HOW HE WROTE “BARK AT THE MOON”
Guitarist Jake E. Lee (Red Dragon Cartel, Ozzy Osbourne, Badlands) participated in a half-show/half-question-and-answer-session at the Lava Cable stage in Owasso, Oklahoma on March 13th.
Lee, who wrote Bark At The Moon” the title song of Ozzy Osbourne’s 1983 album of the same name, revealed how he wrote the tune to be played originally and how it is consistently wronged by tabs all across the web today. Watch video footage from Lava Cable’s Strike A Chord below.
Jake E. Lee’s new band, Red Dragon Cartel, released their debut album on January 28th and are currently on tour. See dates below.
Red Dragon Cartel Tour Dates:
3 Philadelphia, PA The Legendary Dobbs
4 Amityville, NY Revolutions
6 West Seneca, NY Rock & Roll Heaven
May:
30 Vienna, AUS Szene
31 Munich, GER Backstage
June:
5 Norje Solvesborg, SWE Sweden Rock Festival
15 Donnington, ENG Download Festival
19 Seattle, WA El Corazon
21 Idaho Falls, ID Rock The Falls
 participated in a half-show/half-question-and-answer-session at the Lava Cable stage in Owasso, Oklahoma on March 13th. Lee, who ... )
Stop acting like Sulu from STAR TREK. People watched STAR TREK for Kirk, Spock and Mc Coy. People care about Ozzy. If people went to an Ozzy show and Jake did a 45 minute guitar solo, everyone would start freaking out. If anyone other than Lemmy backed out of a MOTORHEAD tour, they would just be replaced. Same with Nugent. Ozzy is a star, Jake is a good guitarist.
But if “everyone backed out of Ozzy”, Ozzy wouldn’t have any songs to sing. So There’d be no Ozzy show. To put it succinctly: there’d be no “Ozzy” without the talented songwriters him and his plastowife have cheated throughout the years. See how that works.
Guess what. If everyone backed out of OZZY, he would’ve gotten other people. From BLIZZARD OF OZ to THE ULTIMATE SIN, OZZY Ruled the world. He was the Michael Jackson of his genre. I’ll bet OZZY is the highest earning metal star in history. If Jake couldn’t parlay that into more money then shame on him. Top lawyers come to court prepared because of their staff and they take all of the credit and money. QUARTERBACKS sign 100 million dollar contracts while OFFENSIVE LINEMEN are homeless by age 35. Don’t t feel bad for Jake ’cause he isn’t a star. He had a chance, now move forward instead of backwards.
“If everyone backed out of OZZY, he would’ve gotten other people.”– “Other people” doesn’t guarantee that such a collaboration would have been as prolific or profound as what was had with Jake and co. Meanwhile, this “other people” theory has already been tested: see Roger Daltrey’s solo career…
UNDER A RAGING MOON is awesome! A great album. Check it out. Top guitars, drums and boy that singer is good too.
Yeah, and the best song on there(after the fire) was written by a guy named Pete Townsend. Meanwhile, the rest of the album, save for a scant couple of co-writing credits, was written by guys not named Roger Daltrey…
You’re right on Richman. I saw Ozzy in Rochester NY in April 1981 with RR. A year later I had tickets for the 1982 Diary Tour, also in April I believe. I saw the show with UFO opening up and Berne Torme filling in the guitar slot. The show was sold out in a 10,000 seater if I remember right. We were all saddened about the plane crash, but the show went on and Torme did a great job with only a few days worth of rehearsals. He played the tunes well and we were just happy that the show went on. OZZY was the star and his songs were what propelled him to stardom. We were surprised that the show hadn’t been cancelled. It must have felt weird for Ozzy to just carry on like that without taking a break, but sometimes that’s what you have to do.
I really liked Jake’s playing with the band and would rank him right behind RR if I were to rank Ozzy’s guitarmen.
Thank you and I admire your words. No doubt that Jake is a great guitar player. I actually think that he sounds even better on THE ULTIMATE SIN. I just hate bashers. It is so unjust. Ozzy dealt with a lot after Randy died. He still gave his fans a really good product that holds up very well.
“No doubt that Jake is a great guitar player.”– Yeah and you neglected to mention songwriter, too…
“OZZY was the star and his songs were what propelled him to stardom.”– HIS songs?? You mean the songs he didn’t write? Pay attention: Jake and the others weren’t just fill-in guitar players…they wrote the EFFING songs! Understand that very critical distinction?
I’m sure he has a legit bitch of some sort. But, Bob Daisley.has said multiple times that he and Jake were paid to give Ozzy the song writing credit. Bob said there were some publishing problems on their end too. So they took the money. Wonder if Jake remembers that. He probably lay needs to drop it.
Cool. I love watching guitar players demonstrate and explain.
Funny that he has an EVH amp…. plug yourself man not eddie!
They were bought off. Jake was living in a Hollywood apartment inking the $500 a week to play with Ozzy. Just noise out of Jake’s mouth.
“Noise out of Jake’s mouth”…otherwise known as the truth.
His own truth. What is your beef with OZZY? Without OZZY, you, me LEE, my man DR, FRANK W and DAN are all visiting Southern Rock websites talking ’bout what if Duane Allman had lived. Untill the 2000s, every single release (except SPEAK OF THE DEVIL) by OZZY is great or at least worth hearing. Forget the back stories, it is the great music that counts. If Daisley was so mistreated then why did he keep coming back? I’m not gonna trash OZZY because these guys want more money. Who are they? Be grateful that they performed with a legend. OZZY, I LOVE YOU. FROM THE RICHMAN.
I think I’m the only one here with you Richman. OZZY has charisma. He might have one of the most distinctive voices in rock ‘n roll. Yes, the sidemen really helped him with his career, but he would’ve been a star anyways. You could’ve put him with Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page and he still would be a big success. Very few people ever do it alone.
By everyone’s arguments here, I guess when OZZY”s LPs didn’t do well, it wasn’t his fault, since he’s just the singer. So when I find I can’t get into most of the post RR/post J.Lee stuff, it’s all Zack’s fault.
In a twisted sort of way, this discussion reminds me a lot of the saga of “The Band.” Robbie Robertson wrote all the material, but other guys sang it. The other guys alll wanted writing credits but didn’t get them. But once Robbie left, they couldn’t come up with anything. There’s truth to that with Ozzy, but at least he’s smart enough to know he needs good writers. And he can find them and interpret the stuff. But Ozzy was the star.
Frank Sinatra didn’t write any of his material either – but he still was great and would be a star singing the damn alphabet .
More twisted logic and hyperbolic nonsense from John G…
I’ll be brief:
If an Ozzy LP “fails” it may simply mean Ozzy himself isn’t a talented enough songwriter to ensure that it wouldn’t. It also may indicate how very critical those early collaborators were to the Ozzy empire.
“He’s smart enough to know he needs good writers”…Genius. Kind of like the way OJ Simpson was smart enough to know he needed legal counsel.
About Ozzy’s charisma– no one here is suggesting Ozzy wasn’t an integral part of his own success, that would be ludicrous. Instead, we simply ask that his camp stop with the self-aggrandizing, soul-stripping, career-killing lies.
No, Frank didn’t write his own material, neither did Elvis. And no, they wouldn’t have still been stars if they’d just sung the alphabet. That’s ridiculous. They’re manufactured pop stars, and good songwriters were the difference between them being the enduring legends that they (apparently) are…and lounge and county fair singers, respectively. Respectfully.
By the way, Sinatra worship in the 21st century? Hokey, anachronistic sheepism.
My beef with Ozzy? His lies.
You have good points and I like your style. More than that I drove 2 hours to CITI FIELD to see a walk off grand slam. Ozzy doesn’t lie, he sings the best songs ever. Comparing OZZY to THE JUICE is too strong. Criminal deviant? Who knows. Killer? No way.
And you think Jimmy Page never did anything worthwhile or original either. Sar305, you have zero credibility. Ozzy has a voice that is unique. How well did Tony Iommi do with all the other singers, post -Dio, who also had a unique voice? I agree that Daisley should get his due, but Ozzy delivered those songs. Kind of the like the Band, Robbie Robertson was a great songwriter, but needed the voices of the other guys to excel. How did Robbie’s solos LPs do? Not as good as the Band.
Frank Sinatra – a manufactured pop star??? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on this site. Was he marketed later on via movies and things like that? Sure – but his voice was why people loved him. Elvis was one too by your account. Forget about the music. Forget about Sinatra’s incredible voice, sense of timing and phrasing. Forget that his voice influenced some of the greatest instrumentalists in jazz.
@John G
“And you think Jimmy Page never did anything worthwhile or original either.”- Again…more hyperbolic nonsense.
“Sar305, you have zero credibility.”- JohnG, you have zero credibility. See how effective that is.
Tony Iommi, post Dio? Is that a serious question? You do understand the concept of one’s prime and the limited productivity and quality it implies, yes? Also, did you not read the part where I freely and eagerly mention that Ozzy, of course, was an integral part of his own success(to include Black Sabbath)?
Judging by the rest of this and your other clueless screeds I can readily and fairly infer you’re incapable of a focused , fact-based debate. My advice? Read more carefully.
Yes, Frank Sinatra was a manufactured “icon”, so was Elvis. Incredible voice? And? Can’t do much with just a voice if one doesn’t have good songs to sing. Sinatra was little more than the Justin Bieber of his time. Deal with it.
I personally believe Daisley when he states in his book that both he and Lee
Accepted a buyout. Sure, give credit where it’s due but don’t forget Daisley.
I also think Ozzy is minimized or demonized quite a bit when in reality it’s probably Sharon
Who makes questionable business decisions. Bob states in his book that him and Ozzy were friends.
So he is complaining about Sharon and her money because he wants more for himself. So, in other words he wishes he was more like Sharon. Hmmmm. Can’ t wait for THE BOB DAISLEY SHOW to start on MTV. So Bob and Ozzy can no longer be friends because Bob wants more money. Then they can be friends? A buyout means just that. Was Bob and Lee Kerslake under duress when they signed this horrible buyout? Too bad guys. Many people still think Tommy Aldridge was the drummer on BLIZZARD and DIARY. When those 2 classics were redone with a different bassist and drummer, who could really tell?