"How Little We Know" is a song written by

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the firs ...

and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

for the 1944 film ''

To Have and Have Not ''To Have and Have Not'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The book follows Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida. ''To Have and Have Not'' was Hemingway's second novel set in t ...

'', where it is performed by the character "Slim" played by

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...

. A young

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

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. After the film's release, it was a hit recording sung by

Judy Johnson William Julius "Judy" Johnson (October 26, 1899 – June 15, 1989) was an American professional third baseman and manager whose career in Negro league baseball spanned 17 seasons, from 1921 to 1937. Slight of build, Johnson never developed as ...

Nick Perito Nicholas Perito (April 7, 1924 – August 4, 2005) was an American Hollywood composer and arranger and, for 40 years, the closest collaborator of singer Perry Como. Life Early years Born in Denver, Perito's start in music was at an early age, w ...

and his orchestra recorded an instrumental cover of the song for

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westing ...

'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 Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

. It has been covered periodically, most recently in 1999 by

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cel ...

with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band for the album ''

Big City Rhythms ''Big City Rhythms'' is a 1999 album by American vocalist Michael Feinstein accompanied by the Maynard Ferguson big band. It was Feinstein's second album for the Concord label, and his first with Maynard Ferguson. Reception The Allmusic review b ...

. This song should not be confused with the

Carolyn Leigh Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". Wi ...

/Phillip Springer composition "(How Little It Matters) How Little We Know", which was first recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1956.

References

{{authority control 1944 songs Songs written for films Songs with music by Hoagy Carmichael Songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer