On Robert Service’s birthday, we explore the history behind his classic song, “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” and discover that truth is stranger than fiction!

What do the words of “Auld Lang Syne” mean, and how did a Canadian bandleader become so inseparable from them?

“Throwing back his head he played for us, for the first time, the masterpiece of his genius – it was Calixa Lavallée; he played O Canada.”

Credited as the first Canadian Christmas carol, the Huron Carol has touched as many hearts as it has inflamed. Gary Cristall exposes its troublesome history.