Matthew Wilder Channeled His Frustration With His Stalled Career Into This Big 80s Hit

Most successful musicians run up against struggles at some point in their careers. The ones who escape those tough periods often create their way out of them. Songwriters can keep writing until they find that one that knocks down the doors.

Matthew Wilder’s frustration level at one point in his career simply couldn’t be contained. He had to channel it into a song. That song, “Break My Stride”, gave him a runaway hit during one of the most competitive eras ever in pop music history.

Needing a “Break”

Matthew Wilder grew up in a musical family in Long Island. By the early 70s, he had begun his career as a musician. He worked many musical jobs within that decade. That included writing, producing, singing backup, and performing his own material.

As the 80s began, Wilder appeared to have found his path to the big time. He signed to Arista Records with the expectation that he’d write material for others and himself. But after a few years had passed, he had nothing to show for it. It looked for a bit like he’d hit an impenetrable wall of sorts.

But Wilder kept on writing. He and co-writer Greg Prestopino created a song with lyrics in the verses that were a bit of a shaggy-dog tale. The refrains, meanwhile, projected a resilience and indomitability that suggested that the narrator couldn’t be contained. Wilder later said his frustration with the indifference of Arista head Clive Davis played into the song. He called it “Break My Stride”.

“Stride” Staying Power

Wilder thought enough of the track that he set up his own late-night recording session. He built it up through the synthesizer sounds that were all the rage on the radio, a style that was somewhat new for Wilder. Friends helped him in the studio, including a bunch that pitched in with informal backing vocals in the closing moments of the song.

When Wilder realized that Davis didn’t think much of the song, he knew that it was time to leave. He moved to the Private-I label, which released his 1983 LP I Don’t Speak The Language. “Break My Stride” slowly but steadily found its legs on the radio, eventually topping out at No. 5 in 1983.

Again and again over the years, different artists have used the chorus of “Break My Stride” for their own songs. Not a bad second life for a song that didn’t even have a video to promote it and came from an artist who soon bailed on his solo career in favor of more of a behind-the-scenes role in music.

Behind the Lyrics of “Break My Stride”

In the verses, the lyrics of “Break My Stride” take us on a rowboat journey to China, leading to an odd encounter between the narrator and the girl he’s addressing. “And you said you had to get your laundry clean,” Wilder quizzically exclaims.

But even in this dream state, the girl states her desire to move on: “You look at me and you see your past/is that the reason that you’re runnin’ so fast?” In the chorus, the narrator refuses to wallow, instead striking a triumphant tone. “Ain’t nothin’ gonna break-a my stride/Nobody gonna slow me down.”

Matthew Wilder mostly left his solo career behind by the mid-80s. He’s since become a successful producer and songwriter for hire. His lone smash as a performer, “Break My Stride”, has lived up to the promise of its lyrics, refusing to slow down even after all these years.

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