Pepper's debut solo album, Christmas in Fallujah, was released in October, 2005 on American Fallout Records. The title track was inspired by Pepper's 21 year-old neighbor, David Maples, who was a medic in the US Army stationed in Iraq. Pepper is reported to have taken out a second mortgage on his house to finance the recording, which was completed at Stress Free Studios in Harrisburg, PA with Marshall Deasy at the controls. The songs on Christmas in Fallujah include: Christmas in Fallujah, M-16, Bethlehem PA, Interstate Highway, Stranded, Back To 1999, Christmas Tree, Deceived, Soldier's Joy (traditional), Why?, Armageddon For Sale, This Land is Your Land (by Woody Guthrie), and two hidden tracks, Little Boy Falling and Plastic Illuminated Snowman.
Musicians and special guests on Christmas in Fallujah included: Scott Fisher (Varmints in Heaven, J.C. Fisher) on drums, Joe Allison on fiddle and mandolin, Chris Planas (The Pagan Babies, Third Degree) on lap steel and electric guitar, Mike Argento and John Fritchey on electric guitar, Pat Bowman (Quagmire Swimteam) on keyboards, John Farmer (Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Del McCoury) on dobro, Doctor Mo (Blind Joe Death) on bass and Ray Eicher on pedal steel. Jefferson Pepper provided all vocals and played acoustic and electric guitars, bass, mandolin and percussion.
Christmas in Fallujah garnered many positive reviews and was widely played on American and European noncommercial and college radio, reaching No. 23 on the Freeform American Roots Chart in November, 2005, No. 13 on the Euro Americana Chart in December, 2005 and No. 1 on the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart in January, 2006.
Two songs from the album, Christmas in Fallujah and M-16, were selected for inclusion on Neil Young's website Living With War.
Christmas in Fallujah was also selected as Best Album of the Decade (2000–2010) by music critic Malcolm Carter of Pennyblack Music (UK).
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Famous quotes containing the word christmas:
“I saw three ships come sailing by,
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I saw three ships come sailing by,
On Christmas Day in the morning.”
—Unknown. As I Sat on a Sunny Bank. . .
Oxford Book of Light Verse, The. W. H. Auden, ed. (1938)