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On October 15, it was reported that Jake E. Lee, Ozzy Osbourne’s former guitarist, was shot multiple times in a seemingly random incident in Las Vegas. His management stated: “Lee is fully conscious and doing well and is in intensive care at a hospital in Las Vegas. He is expected to make a full recovery. Las Vegas authorities believe the shooting was completely random and occurred while Lee was walking his dog in the early morning hours.”

Ozzy made his own statement via TMZ: “It’s been 37 years since I’ve seen Jake E. Lee, but that doesn’t change the shock I felt when I heard what happened to him today.” It’s just another one senseless act of gun violence. I send my thoughts to him and his beautiful daughter Jade. I just hope he’s okay.”

Jake was a member of Ozzy’s band between 1982 and 1987 and played on two multi-platinum albums, Bark At The Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986).

After a tragedy, he was hired by Ozzy. On March 19, 1982, Ozzy’s guitarist Randy Rhoads died in a plane crash in Florida while on tour in the United States. This tour was completed with two guitarists: first Bernie Torme (ex-Gillan) and then Brad Gillis from Night Ranger. But by late 1982, Ozzy was looking for a permanent replacement for Rhoads, and as Jake recalled in an interview with Classic Rock, in a surprising turn of events, he got the job.

By this point, Jake was well known in the LA rock scene, having briefly played with Ratt and Rough Cutt. He had also been approached by Mötley Crüe (he claimed they wanted him either as a replacement for guitarist Mick Mars or to make it a two-guitar band). And he was in an early Dio lineup, led by Ronnie James Dio, the singer who had replaced Ozzy in Black Sabbath in 1979.

Jake sent a tape and photo to Ozzy’s wife and manager Sharon. Then he heard at the LA Grapevine that George Lynch, Dokken’s guitarist, had accompanied Ozzy on tour to rehearse during sound checks. “George got the job,” Jake recalled. “Everyone knew.”

But when Ozzy’s tour reached LA, an audition for Jake was taking place in a rehearsal studio. Once it was done, Ozzy offered him the gig. Jake said yes in disbelief. A minute later, George Lynch burst into the room, unaware of what had just happened. According to Jake, Ozzy simply turned to Lynch and said flatly, “It’s gone. You lost it.” He pointed at Jake and announced, “He’s the new guitarist.” And with that he walked away.

“I did feel bad,” Jake admitted, “but not as bad as I felt good. And at least I saw Ozzy firing people early on.”

Jake was eventually fired in 1987 and replaced by Zakk Wylde. But as Jake told Classic Rock, he remained grateful for the time he spent with Ozzy. “It was incredible,” he said.

And most importantly, he felt that following in the footsteps of Randy Rhoads had pushed him to improve his own game. “I realized these were big shoes to fill,” he said. “Randy was the best guitarist since Eddie Van Halen. But I was a good player. I just became a better player because I had to follow Randy.”