Matthew Wilder
Wilder at the 2005 ASCAP Pop Awards
Wilder at the 2005 ASCAP Pop Awards
Background information
Born (1953-01-24) January 24, 1953
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • synthesizer
  • guitar
Years active1972–present
Labels
Websitematthewwildermusic.com

Matthew Wilder (né Weiner; January 24, 1953)[1] is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. In early 1984, his single "Break My Stride" hit No. 2 on the Cash Box 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

Born in New York City,[1] Wilder graduated from the New Lincoln School.

Career

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.[2][3]

Discography

Solo albums

With Matthew & Peter

  • Under the Arch (1972, with Matthew & Peter)

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)		 Album
US
[4]		 US$
[5]		 AUS
[6]		 US AC
[7]		 US Dance
[8]		 US
R&B
[9]		 UK
[10]
1982 "Work So Hard" — — — 32 — — — —
1983 "Break My Stride" 5 2 6 4 17 76 4 I Don't Speak the Language
"I Don't Speak the Language" — — — — — — —
1984 "World of the Rich and Famous" — — — — — — —
"The Kid's American" 33 40 — — — — 93
1985 "Ladder of Lovers" — — — — — — —
"Bouncin' Off the Walls" 52 46 — — — — — Bouncin' Off the Walls
"—" 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

  1. 1 2 3 Farance, Jeff (June 16, 2006). "Seeing Stars: Where's Wilder? With Waldo?" The Daytona Beach News-Journal. p. E14.
  2. ↑ "Princesses". National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Princesses - The Musical". Matthew Wilder. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Matthew Wilder Album & Song Chart History – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  5. ↑ Price, Randy. "Cashbox Top 100: the 80's Charts". Cashbox. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Matthew Wilder Album & Song Chart History – Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Matthew Wilder Album & Song Chart History – Dance/Club Play Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Matthew Wilder Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  10. ↑ "The Official Charts Company – Matthew Wilder". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  11. ↑ "ARIA Accreditations 2020". ARIA. January 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Certified Awards Search" (To access, enter the keywords "Matthew Wilder"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
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