HAPPY THUNDER is an album of 21 Chinese pieces played by Andy Cahan on harmonicas, fiddles, banjo, guitar, and percussion, in a variety of combinations. Notes on the individual pieces are included. A self-taught harmonica player from the age of four, Cahan is best known for his old time fiddle and banjo playing. He spent years recording and learning from traditional musicians of the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. His clawhammer banjo playing and old-time fiddling can be heard on records issued by the County, Heritage, Marimac, Kicking Mule, and Folkways labels, and has contributed his recordings to several CDs issued by Field Recorder's Collective. Cahan has also had a lifelong interest in Chinese music and culture. On this album, Cahan's skills on the harmonica, clawhammer banjo, and old-time fiddle merge with songs of China in highly original instrumental renditions . This unusual collection features songs of the Chinese New Year, as well as pop songs of the stage and screen of 1930s-1960s Hong Kong and Shanghai, Taiwanese and Cantonese folk and pop tunes, mid-century compositions from the PRC, and melodies from the far western province of Xinjiang. 1. Gathering Red Water Chestnuts 采红菱 2. Picking Tea and Chasing Butterflies 采茶扑蝶 3. Butterfly Lovers/ A New Years Wish 小提琴协奏曲 /恭喜發財 4. In the Spring Breeze 春风里 5. New Year Visits / Jubilation 拜年 / 喜洋洋 6. Greetings To All and Congratulations For A Good Year 恭喜大家今年好 7. The Hungry Horse Shakes His Bells 餓馬搖鈴 8. Brother Wu the Shepherd 五哥放羊 9. A Lively Spring Festival 新春真热闹 10. My Motherland 我的祖国 11. Back From the Target Range 打靶归来 12. The Aster Blooms 马兰花开 13. The Spring Breeze Kisses My Face 春风吻上我的脸 14. In Praise of Xinjiang 新疆好 15. A Wa Gu Li 阿瓦尔古丽 16. Love Me A Little Bit More 劉韻加多 17. Rising Higher 步步高 18. Remembering the Elders 小拜年 19. Raising Red Lanterns 挂红灯 20. In Spring 春天里 21. The Dance of the Yao People 瑶族舞曲