Music
David Bowie’s “China Girl” was co-written by another icon. The popularity of the track helped Bowie’s co-writer achieve some desperately-needed prosperity.
Some fantastic classic rock songs have been made when two different rock stars put their heads together. For example, David Bowie’s “China Girl” was co-written by another icon. The popularity of the track helped Bowie’s co-writer achieve some desperately-needed prosperity.
David Bowie wrote ‘China Girl’ with a musical genius who was not tearing up the charts
During a 2008 interview posted on Tony Clayton-Lea’s webiste, Iggy Pop discussed a few turning points in his life. “Another turning point?” he said. “Meeting David Bowie and his entourage, but that was more of an inevitability; it would have been them or someone else, other entourages at the time.
“I think I was just fortunate that I picked the best one!” he added. “Then, post-Stooges — which by this time had gone down in flames — a re-encounter with Bowie and his songs, the circumstances of which meant that we were able to write some songs together.” The most famous of the songs Pop co-wrote with the “Rebel Rebel” singer was “China Girl.” Pop originally released the track on his seminal album The Idiot, but it didn’t garner that much attention. The Idiot is one of those albums that shows up on every list of the greatest albums of all time, even though it never garnered much appreciation from anyone besides classic rock obsessives and music critics.
David Bowie helped Iggy Pop find financial stability
Pop said he was struggling at that time. “I was sleeping on the floor in Bensonhurst, which was like a Mafia neighborhood in Brooklyn,” he recalled. “Basically, I was living hand to mouth, my health was going, and I realized I couldn’t take on the world anymore — I was going to lose.
“So I decided to try to go straight; it was a good decision, although it took three or four years of adjustment and probably led to a fairly long period of mediocrity in my music,” he said. “But it also led to my survival as a person.” Bowie decided to release his own version of “China Girl” as a single, and the success of that song granted Pop financial stability.
Interestingly, the song’s title was used for China Girl, a modernized film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set among rival gangs. Like the song, the film China Girl explored an interracial relationship back when that was more taboo.
‘China Girl’ was part of the divisive ‘Let’s Dance’ era
Bowie’s “China Girl” became one of his biggest hits. It reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, lasting on the chart for 18 weeks. The tune appeared on the album Let’s Dance, Bowie’s controversial transition into the world of pop music. Some fans will tell you that Let’s Dance is an artistic triumph, while others consider it a betrayal of Bowie’s avant-garde roots.
Regardless of its quality, Let’s Dance was a commercial juggernaut. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, lasting on the chart for 69 weeks. Considering it has radio-friendly singles like “China Girl,” “Let’s Dance,” and “Modern Love,” it was destined to do well. It also paved the way for producer Nile Rodgers to helm a more seminal 1980s dance album: Madonna’s Like a Virgin.
“China Girl” is a special song that became a career milestone for both Pop and Bowie.
