by Former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Tommy Aldridge recently reflected on the immense pressure Jake E. Lee faced when stepping into Randy Rhoads’ shoes. He shared his insights in an interview with Get On The Bus.
Aldridge expressed compassion for Lee’s situation. He drew parallels to his own experiences with the impossible standards that follow massive success.
“I had the same kind of compassion for Jake I had for Bernie [Tormé, interim Ozzy guitarist], and I knew, because I’ve seen it didn’t matter,” Aldridge said. “I mean, a Whitesnake record sold 15 million; you come and you do the follow-up, you can sell 5 million records and you’re a failure. I know, I’ve been there.”
The drummer revealed that he could foresee the challenges Lee would face, even before joining the band himself.
“My heart was going out to Jake E. Lee. He didn’t know it at the time, because he was so consumed,” he continued. “I don’t think Jake E. Lee, in real time, had any idea what was around the corner. I had seen I saw it before I even joined the band. I didn’t know it at the time. I saw how the cookie was going to be crumbling.”
Aldridge also shared insights about Randy Rhoads’ future plans. He suggested the legendary guitarist was already planning to leave Ozzy’s band before his tragic death.
“In Randy’s case, it was preempted because Randy was gonna go on. He was gonna go on well before he passed; he didn’t have to die in a plane crash to get away from that camp,” Aldridge revealed. “That was going to happen; that was, that was in his future. I know it for a fact, because [he] spoke to me about it all the time, in full confidence, and it remains that way. But in Jake’s case, he had to go into the same studio, the same engineer, the same vibe, and come up with the goods, man.”
Aldridge’s observations highlight the unique challenges Lee faced during his tenure with Ozzy from 1982 to 1987. This period would define both his career and the ongoing debate about his place in rock history.
Lee’s two studio albums with Ozzy—Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986)—matched Rhoads’ studio output. However, they faced constant comparison to the late guitarist’s groundbreaking work. Guitar World reported that Lee himself acknowledged that while his style differed from Rhoads’, fans often debated who was superior. Some praised Lee’s playing as better while others fiercely defended Rhoads’ legacy as “unparalleled” in the rock world.
The technical demands of following Rhoads added another layer of pressure to Lee’s situation. Ultimate Guitar noted that Lee stated some of his Ozzy songs are “a bit harder to play” than Randy’s. This demonstrated the high musical standards he had to uphold while under intense scrutiny from both critics and fans.
Despite the commercial success of both albums, with The Ultimate Sin reaching platinum status, Lee’s contributions were often overshadowed by the mythology surrounding his predecessor. The guitarist found himself in the impossible position of having to honor Rhoads’ legacy while establishing his own musical identity within the same framework.
Lee’s experience reflects a broader pattern in rock music where replacement musicians face insurmountable expectations, regardless of their talent or commercial success. As Aldridge noted, even selling millions of records can be perceived as failure when measured against a predecessor’s achievements. This creates a psychological burden that extends far beyond musical performance.
