Matthew Wilder | |
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| Born | Matthew Weiner January 24, 1953 New York City, U.S. |
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| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | matthewwildermusic |
Matthew Wilder (né Weiner; January 24, 1953)[1] is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 1983 hit single "Break My Stride", which hit No. 2 on the Cashbox chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also wrote the music for the Disney animated feature film Mulan and provided the singing voice for the character Ling.
Early life
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (April 2024) |
Matthew Wilder was born on Long Island, New York,[1] into a Jewish family.[2][3] His mother was an opera singer and a Juilliard graduate, and his father was a press agent on Broadway. Wilder started studying classical piano at age four. He moved to Greenwich Village at age 16, and graduated from the New Lincoln School.
Wilder grew up watching a variety of musicals, which later influenced his musical style.[4]
Career
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (July 2021) |
Wilder was one-half of the Greenwich Village folk rock group Matthew & Peter in the 1970s. In 1978, he moved to Los Angeles, and sang for television commercials and as a backup vocalist for Rickie Lee Jones and Bette Midler.
Wilder's debut album, I Don't Speak the Language (1983), reached No. 49 on the Billboard 200, fueled by "Break My Stride". Wilder had some continued success with the single "The Kid's American", which reached No. 33 in 1984, but the single failed to match the success of "Break My Stride". Wilder's second album, Bouncin' Off the Walls (1984), failed to gain much momentum — even with an innovative music video for the single "Bouncin' Off the Walls" — with only the title track making the charts (No. 52), and was subsequently deemed a commercial failure.
Despite the downturn in his solo career, Wilder continued his career in the music industry as a songwriter and as a record producer for such acts as No Doubt (the hit album Tragic Kingdom), 702, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus on her Hannah Montana song "G.N.O. (Girls Night Out)", The Belle Brigade, King Charles, and Joanna Pacitti. He has also done production work on Australian singer-songwriter Mig Ayesa's self-titled album released in April 2007 and has helped with production on Hayden Panettiere's unreleased album.
For the Disney film Mulan, Wilder co-wrote the songs with lyricist David Zippel. Wilder also lent his singing voice to the character of Ling. He won an Annie Award nomination for Music in an Animated Feature Production, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score (along with David Zippel and Jerry Goldsmith) for his work on that film.[1]
For theatre, Wilder once again paired with Zippel to provide the music and lyrics for Princesses, a musical comedy update of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel A Little Princess. The production ran at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle in 2003.[5][6] In 2025, Wilder's musical, Stiletto, premiered in London at the Charing Cross Theatre. Wilder wrote the music and lyrics, the book was written by British playwright Tim Luscombe. The story centres on a love story between two young singers struggling to find their way into the opera world of 1730s Venice.[7]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
AUS [9] |
NLD [10] | ||
| I Don't Speak the Language | 49 | 95 | 55 | |
| Bouncin' Off the Walls |
|
— | — | — |
| Especially on Birthdays |
|
— | — | — |
With Matthew & Peter
- Under the Arch (1972, with Matthew & Peter)
Soundtrack albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | |||
| Mulan (with David Zippel and Jerry Goldsmith) |
|
24 |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [13] |
US CB [14] |
US AC [15] |
US Dance [16] |
US R&B/HH [17] |
AUS [18] |
BEL [19] |
GER [20] |
NLD [21] |
UK [22] | ||||
| "Work So Hard" | 1982 | — | — | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/a | |
| "Break My Stride" | 1983 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 76 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 4 | I Don't Speak the Language | |
| "The Kid's American" | 1984 | 33 | 40 | — | — | — | — | 28 | 35 | 24 | 93 | ||
| "I Don't Speak the Language" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Bouncin' Off the Walls" | 52 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Bouncin' Off the Walls | ||
| "Mad for You" | 1985 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Break My Stride | Music video | |
| 1984 | Top of the Pops | ||
| 1984 | Solid Gold | ||
| 1984 | American Bandstand | Two episodes | |
| 1984 | The Kid's American | Music video | |
| 1985 | Bouncin' Off the Walls | Music video | |
| 1998 | Mulan | Ling (singing voice) | Animated feature film |
| 1999 | VH-1 Where Are They Now? | Television series documentary |
References
- ^ a b c Farance, Jeff (June 16, 2006). "Seeing Stars: Where's Wilder? With Waldo?" The Daytona Beach News-Journal. p. E14.
- ^ "Brooklyn Suites".
- ^ "Catching up with Matthew Wilder: No Breaking His Stride". February 23, 2020.
- ^ "Rockstar castrati: Matthew Wilder talks Stiletto". bachtrack.com. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ^ "Princesses". National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
- ^ "Princesses - The Musical". Matthew Wilder. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
- ^ Stewart, Greg (March 17, 2025). "Interview: Matthew Wilder on Stiletto at Charing Cross Theatre". Theatre Weekly. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
- ^ "Matthew Wilder Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 337. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Discografie Matthew Wilder". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ "Upcoming Releases". CMJ New Music Report. October 10, 1983. p. 10.
- ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Mulan". RIAA. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ "Matthew Wilder Album & Song Chart History – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ Price, Randy. "Cashbox Top 100: the 80's Charts". Cashbox. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Matthew Wilder Album & Song Chart History – Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "Matthew Wilder Album & Song Chart History – Dance/Club Play Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "Matthew Wilder Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-6461-1917-5.
- ^ "Ultratop". Ultratop.
- ^ "offiziele charts".
- ^ "Dutch Top 100".
- ^ "The Official Charts Company – Matthew Wilder". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "ARIA Accreditations 2020". ARIA. January 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "Certified Awards Search" (To access, enter the keywords "Matthew Wilder"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- Living people
- American male pop singers
- American male singer-songwriters
- American new wave musicians
- Annie Award winners
- Columbia Records artists
- Epic Records artists
- American male new wave singers
- Jewish American musicians
- Musicians from Manhattan
- Record producers from New York (state)
- Singer-songwriters from New York (state)
- Singers from New York City
- Synth-pop new wave musicians
- 1953 births
