The best Academy Award winning songs: #13 "For All We Know" from "Lovers and Other Strangers" (1970)

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This is an unusual choice as I never cared for the Carpenters. In fact the Carpenters did not even introduce “For All We Know” on the soundtrack. Their hit was a cover. The long forgotten “Lovers and Other Strangers” is a movie only I would remember. Besides the song, the film’s only notoriety is being Diane Keaton’s film debut and Sylvester Stallone performing an unbilled bit. Richard S. Castellano received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. You know the actor as Clemenza in “The Godfather.” A box office success, the critically acclaimed “Lovers and Other Strangers” was adapted from a Broadway comedy surrounding the goings on of a wedding uniting two diverse families. “For All We Know” was written by Hollywood veteran Fred Karlin (music) and Robb Wilson & Arthur James (lyrics). Wilson and James were pseudonyms for Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin who were founding members of the group Bread. Larry Meredith sang the song on the soundtrack. Richard Carpenter saw the movie and thought the tune possessed hit potential. He was right as the Carpenters’ cover soared to Billboard #3. The song’s thoughtful lyrics were perfectly suited for Karen who does a superb job. She never sounded better. One of her best. At the same time, Shirley Bassey’s cover reached #6 UK.