How Little We Know

"How Little We Know" is a song written by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer for the 1944 film To Have and Have Not, where it is performed by the character "Slim" played by Lauren Bacall. A young Andy Williams recorded the song for the film as a possible alternative track to dub Bacall's low voice; however, Bacall claimed that they used her singing.[1] After the film's release, it was a hit recording sung by Judy Johnson. Nick Perito and his orchestra recorded an instrumental cover of the song for Muzak's Stimulus Progression program in the 1970s.

In 1948, a recording of "How Little We Know" by British singer Steve Conway was released by Columbia.[2] It has been covered periodically, most recently in 1999 by Michael Feinstein with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band for the album Big City Rhythms.[3]

This song should not be confused with the Carolyn Leigh/Phillip Springer composition "(How Little It Matters) How Little We Know", which was first recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1956.

  1. ^ "When Andy Williams dubbed Lauren Bacall". Los Angeles Times. 26 September 2012.
  2. ^ "January Columbia Records". Sunday Pictorial. January 18, 1948. p. 10.
  3. ^ Hoagy Carmichael. "Cover versions of How Little We Know by Betty Jane Bonney - SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com.