China (Red Rockers song)
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| "China" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Red Rockers | ||||
| from the album Good as Gold | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Genre | New wave | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | Columbia/415 | |||
| Songwriter | Darren Hill/John Thomas Griffith/James Singletary/David Kahne | |||
| Producer | David Kahne | |||
| Red Rockers singles chronology | ||||
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"China" is a song by Red Rockers, released in 1983. It was a hit single, peaking at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100[1] and No. 19 on the Mainstream Rock chart.[2]
"China" was originally one of the ten songs on Red Rockers' second full-length album, Good as Gold. The single was released on the joint label Columbia/415.[3] In the wake of 415's deal with Columbia, "Voice of America" was relegated to the B-side of the single, and "China" became the breakout single for the band.[4] It spent ten weeks on the Billboard Hot 100,[5] debuting at number 92 the week of June 4, 1983 and peaking at number 53 the weeks of July 9 and 16, 1983.[6][7] Although the song did not reach the Billboard top 40, it has had an enduring lifespan. The song's popularity was enhanced by its colorful music video, which was a regular selection on MTV during its early years being added into rotation in April 1983.[8] The video was filmed in New Orleans, the band's hometown.[9]
Legacy
"China" was described by rock critic Ira Robbins as "a startlingly pretty pop song", and it represented a major change in the sound and style of Red Rockers: "Gone was the raging rhetoric, replaced by ... articulate, ringing guitars and John Griffith's newly smoothed-up vocals."[10]
"China" was included on Rhino Records' new wave compilation album series, Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's.[11] In 2000, John Thomas Griffith re-recorded the song with his band Cowboy Mouth for their studio album Easy.