Dave Franklin(1895-1970)

Tin Pan Alley lyricist and composer, best remembered for co-writing the Looney Tunes theme song "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" in collaboration with Cliff Friend. Franklin became an accomplished professional pianist by the age of thirteen, employed by various New York publishing houses. He later worked as an accompanist in vaudeville and eventually freelanced as a solo performer in nightclubs on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1934 he joined ASCAP and began writing songs for big bands (including Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians and Isham Jones) as well as for Warner Brothers cartoons. In tandem with Cliff Friend, he went on to provide catchy numbers for many of the early Porky Pig and Daffy Duck shorts. Notable compositions include "You Can't Stop Me from Dreaming" (twelve weeks at number 1 on the Lucky Strikes Cigarette Hit Parade Radio Show in 1937), "Anniversary Waltz" (a number one hit for Decca in 1947), "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" and "Floating on a Bubble".