History

"China" was originally one of the ten songs on Red Rockers' second full-length album, Good as Gold. The single was released by the joint label Columbia

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

/415

415 Records

415 Records was a San Francisco record label created in 1978. The label focused its efforts on local punk rock and new wave music acts of the late 1970s through the late 1980s, including The Offs, The Nuns, Romeo Void, and Wire Train...

.
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.
Although the song did not reach the Billboard Top Ten, it had an enduring lifespan. The song's popularity was enhanced by its colorful music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

, which was a regular selection on MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 during its early years. The video was filmed in New Orleans, the band's hometown.

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

Condition Red

Condition Red, Red Rockers' first full length album, was released in 1981 on 415 Records. It was recorded at the famed Automatt studio in San Francisco. The Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra sings background vocals on Folsom Prison Blues...

, replaced by... articulate, ringing guitars and John Griffith

John Thomas Griffith

John Thomas Griffith is an American singer-songwriter best known as a guitarist and vocalist for the band Cowboy Mouth. John Thomas Griffith first established himself on the American music scene in the early 1980s as lead singer and guitarist for the Red Rockers, co-writing their 1983 MTV hit...

's newly smoothed-up vocals."

"China" was included on Rhino Records' new wave compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 series, Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's. In 2000, John Thomas Griffith re-recorded the song with his band Cowboy Mouth

Cowboy Mouth

Cowboy Mouth is a rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Their name usually means "One with a loud and raucous voice". The nucleus of the band formed in the 1990s, and they have become a powerhouse live act whose performances have been likened to "a religious experience."Some of their most...

 for their studio album Easy.

In spite of - or perhaps because of - its amorphous qualities, the song remains an accessible touchstone for American pop cultural references to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

more than a quarter of a century after its release.