Matthew Weiner is a singer and songwriter from New York who changed his name to Matthew Wilder (good move) and scored a classic 80s hit in 1984 when "Break My Stride" strutted to #5. He's largely considered a one-hit wonder, but he did have two additional chart appearances: "The Kid's American" and "Bouncin' Off The Walls" went to #33 and #52, respectively. Wilder then got into music producing, most notably helping No Doubt with their initial success in the 90s. "I Was There" is a deep track on Wilder's debut CD, 1983's "I Don't Speak The Language." In my mind, this one may have been a better follow-up to "Break My Stride" that would have kept radio interested in him for a longer time.
No Doubt started as a California ska band in the early 90s and broke through to the mainstream with their landmark record, "Tragic Kingdom" in 1995. This near masterpiece of an album simmered for a good while but eventually made the band a household name and launched a highly successful solo career for Stefani. The record gave the band increasingly successful hits, starting with "Just A Girl," which rose to #23. This was followed by "Spiderwebs," which reached #18. Finally, the band got their monster hit, "Don't Speak," to sit at the top of the chart for an astonishing 16 weeks. These chart achievements made the band the #1 Hot 100 artist of 1996. Their next record, "Return Of Saturn," didn't arrive until 2000 and was a flop by comparison. The band retooled its sound for the naughts and came back strong with danceable pop hits like "Hey Baby" (#5), "Hella Good" (#13), and a pleasant ballad, "Underneath It All" (#3). The band scored one more top 10 hit in 2003 with a cover of Talk Talk's song, "It's My Life" (#10). Most of the band's best work is still found on "Tragic Kingdom," including "Happy Now?", which is one of the lesser known standouts.
