Jake E. Lee Joins Ozzy Osbourne’s Final Show After Personal Call From Tom Morello

A significant reunion is slated for Ozzy Osbourne‘s farewell concert, “Back to the Beginning“, as guitarist Jake E. Lee confirms his participation. This marks Lee‘s first professional interaction with Ozzy Osbourne since his departure from the solo band in 1987, following his work on albums like 1983’s Bark at the Moon and 1986’s The Ultimate Sin. The orchestrator of this long-awaited reconnection is none other than Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who serves as the musical director for the upcoming event.

In a recent conversation with Guitar World, Lee revealed the direct outreach from Morello. “Tom Morello called me. He said, ‘There’s going to be a thing, an original Sabbath performance and Ozzy Osbourne’s final performance. I can’t see this going on without Jake E. Lee in there somewhere,’” Lee shared, recounting the invitation. Expressing his sentiments about joining the historic July 5th show at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Lee conveyed a mix of excitement and concern for his former bandmate. “It’s a thrill to be a part of it. And even more so for me to watch it. I hope Ozzy can get through it. I haven’t spoken with him or seen him in decades. I really don’t know what condition he’s in, but he deserves a final farewell performance. No matter how he is, or how well his singing is, he deserves to have that final farewell. I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Long before his tenure with Ozzy, Jake E. Lee‘s musical path was profoundly shaped by Black Sabbath. Recalling his teenage years, Lee confessed a youthful snobbery towards rock music, having grown up playing classical piano, until Jimi Hendrix‘s “Purple Haze” ignited a new passion. His eventual encounter with Black Sabbath proved transformative. He found an immediate resonance with their dark sound, stating that the debut album’s opening track, “Black Sabbath,” was “like listening to a horror movie. I don’t know if I’d say I was scared, but it overwhelmed me. I’d never heard anything like it.” He reserved particular admiration for Tony Iommi‘s guitar work: “[Tony Iommi’s playing] just sounds evil. He bends so [that] it’s not quite in pitch. It just made it sound so much better. There are things like that that I found challenging. It’s unfathomable how he just kept coming up with riffs!” Lee also mentioned Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Grand Funk Railroad as his three favorite bands from his teenage years, adding, “Every time I’m trying to set my stuff up to get the sound right, I play ‘War Pigs!'”

The “Back to the Beginning” concert itself is poised to be a landmark event. It will reunite the original Black Sabbath members—Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward—onstage in their hometown of Birmingham. The day-long celebration will feature an extensive lineup of renowned musicians paying homage to Ozzy’s legacy and Sabbath’s pioneering sound. Confirmed performers include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon, and Rival Sons. Additional artists slated to perform are Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, David Draiman, Duff McKagan, Fred Durst, Lzzy Hale, Jonathan Davis, K.K. Downing, Mike Bordin, Papa V Perpetua, Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Slash, Sleep Token II, Wolfgang Van Halen, Steven Tyler, Soundgarden, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Vernon Reid, Whitfield Crane, and David Ellefson. Actor Jason Momoa will host the proceedings.

For fans unable to attend in person, a global pay-per-view livestream of “Back to the Beginning” will be available. The live broadcast commences at 3:00 PM BST on July 5th, with purchasers retaining access to watch the full concert for an additional 48 hours. Ozzy Osbourne is expected to perform a short solo set before joining his Black Sabbath bandmates for their final live appearance together.