Both the soundtrack and Streisand 's '' The Way We Were '' were fronted by the commercial single release of the title song on September 27 , 1973 . The single was a huge success after its release , topping the United States ' '' Billboard '' Hot 100 and Canada 's '' RPM '' Top Singles chart , while also reaching the top ten on the ARIA Charts in Australia . Since considered one of Streisand 's signature songs , " The Way We Were " went platinum on August 19 , 1997 by selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States . Hamlisch and the Bergmans were widely praised for their work on the title track , winning 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 's score ( which is featured on the soundtrack ) . " The Way We Were " also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1974 and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1975 . Despite not providing the album a written review by one of its critics , AllMusic managed to rate it three out of five stars
46th Academy Awards
46th Academy Awards
The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording