CARPENTERS - FOR ALL WE KNOW

Released: January 15, 1971

Charts:  US: #3 

"For All We Know" is a soft rock song composed by Fred Karlin with lyrics by Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin, both founding members of the band Bread. Originally performed by Larry Meredith for the 1970 film “Lovers and Other Strangers”, Richard Carpenter heard the song while watching the movie during a tour and thought it was perfect for the Carpenters. The duo recorded it, and it became a hit in 1971, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

In the 1970 film “Lovers and Other Strangers”, a couple who live together get married, and they are the only two people who are happy about their marriage, as others around them face marital or pre-marital issues. The song "For All We Know" plays during their wedding scene. After watching the film, Richard Carpenter decided to record the song with Karen, releasing it in December 1970. The Carpenters' version became a huge success, achieving gold status within two months. Their rendition helped the song win the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1971.

When "For All We Know" was nominated for the Academy Award, the Carpenters were not permitted to perform it at the ceremony because they had not appeared in any films, which was a requirement at the time. At the Carpenters' request, British singer Petula Clark performed the song during the ceremony. Years later, on February 6, 1983, Clark paid tribute to Karen Carpenter by performing the song in concert, just two days after Karen's tragic passing.

Richard Carpenter originally had the intro to the track played on guitar by José Feliciano, who had expressed interest in collaborating with the Carpenters. Feliciano created the intro using his nylon string acoustic guitar, but the next day, his manager requested that Feliciano's contribution be removed. Richard complied and replaced the guitar intro with an oboe played by Earle Dumler. The rest of the song featured session musicians from the Wrecking Crew.