The album 's lead single " The Way We Were " was released as a 7 " record on September 27 , 1973 , roughly three weeks before the premiere of the accompanying film . The song was largely successful after its initial release , where it reached number one on the '' Billboard '' Hot 100 and spent twenty-three consecutive weeks among the ranking . Its success was replicated in Canada , where it was also number one . " The Way We Were " was additionally the top-selling single in the United States in 1974 according to the list compiled by '' Billboard '' . It was also sent to adult contemporary radio , where it topped the Adult Contemporary charts in both the United States and Canada . On August 19 , 1997 , " The Way We Were " was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America , signifying sales of over 1,000,000 copies . The single has since been considered to be one of her signature songs . For their work on the track , Hamlisch and the Bergman 's won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 46th Academy Awards , with Hamlisch also winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the film . It additionally won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1974 and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1975 . On the National Endowment for the Arts and Recording Industry Association of America 's list of the top 365 " Songs of the Century " , " The Way We Were " was placed at number 298
46th Academy Awards
46th Academy Awards
The Way We Were (Barbra Streisand album)