Song · Red Rockers
“China” by Red Rockers
From the album Good as Gold (1983)
“China” by Red Rockers appears on 11 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1983 and 2023. It was first released in 1983 on the album Good as Gold. Its best result is #40 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #89 alternative song of 1983 and #3,005 alternative song of all time.
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"China" was the song that finally got Red Rockers noticed, a 1983 cut from Good as Gold, their second full-length album, and it sounds nothing like the angry young band they'd been. John Thomas Griffith, Darren Hill, David Kahne and James Singletary share the writing credit, and together they came up with something bright and shimmering, a hooky new wave tune with a melancholy glint. Ira Robbins called it a startlingly pretty pop song, and he had a point.
Once the band's label, 415, struck its deal with Columbia, "Voice of America" got bumped to the B-side and "China" went out front instead. It never cracked the Hot 100's top 40, peaking at 53, but it made 19 on the Mainstream Rock chart, and its colorful video, filmed in the band's hometown of New Orleans, became a fixture on the young MTV.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 40 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 454 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) | 501 |
| 1992 | 347 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 393 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1995 | 448 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1996 | 407 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1996 | 455 | Q101 | Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 306 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 2002 | 1697 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 633 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2023 | 300 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
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