China Boy is a 1922 jazz standard composed by Phil Boutelje and Dick Winfree. It began life as a vaudeville number introduced by Henry E. Murtagh and soon became popular with dance bands of the era. The published sheet music describes it as an oriental lullaby in fox trot rhythm, with the famous line China boy go sleep, close your eyes, don’t peep.
The tune was popularized by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra's 1929 recording on Columbia, featuring Bix Beiderbecke, and it went on to chart in several versions—Paul Whiteman (#13 in 1929), Red Nichols (#18 in 1930), Isham Jones (#13 in 1935), and Benny Goodman Trio (#9 in 1936). It has since become a jazz standard recorded by many great players, including Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt, Fats Waller, and Oscar Peterson, and it has appeared in films such as Strike Up the Band (1940) and The Benny Goodman Story (1956). While there is no single defining album, China Boy remains a frequently performed piece across Dixieland and Swing repertoires.
