Wilde was a member of 1970s cult recording act
the Quick, and had released several mildly successful solo albums in the 1980s. Wilde and Solem had been in the power-pop quartet Great Buildings, a band that released one album for
CBS in 1981 before dissolving. After establishing themselves as the Rembrandts in 1989, Solem and Wilde recorded
a self-titled album largely in Wilde's home studio. From this album, the group had their first success during 1990 with "
Just the Way It Is, Baby", which scored at number 14 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The self-titled album scored number 88 on the
Billboard 200. The next album,
Untitled, of 1992, featured the minor successes "Johnny, Have You Seen Her?" and "Chase the Clouds Away". Another track from the album, "Rollin' Down the Hill", was used in the film
Dumb and Dumber. "
I'll Be There for You", the theme for the sitcom
Friends, reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for several weeks before being released as a single and peaking at No. 17 on the U.S.
Billboard chart. The single has been released in other countries, including the UK, where it reached No. 3 in 1995 and No. 5 in 1997. The success of
Friends has caused a greater awareness of the band, and led to greater sales of their recorded albums. The song was also featured on the
Friends Soundtrack album. An earlier, previously unreleased version of "I'll Be There for You" with a different lyric was included on their
Unreleased Stuff album. In 1997, the duo split, with Solem returning to Minneapolis to concentrate on his band Thrush. In 1998, Wilde released the album
Spin This, credited to "Danny Wilde + The Rembrandts". In 2000, Solem and Wilde reunited, and released the album
Lost Together as the Rembrandts the following year. In 2005, the band released two versions of an album of re-recorded favorites,
Choice Picks: one released through
Awarestore.com which features the new track "Chasin' Down a Rainbow", the other on the
Fuel 2000 label with the new track "Don't Give Me Up". In 2006,
Rhino Records released the collection
Greatest Hits, a 20-song career-to-date retrospective including material from the lone Great Buildings album
Apart from the Crowd. In 2016 the pair reunited and announced they would release a new album.
Via Satellite was released in 2019. == Mainstream success ==