John Hiatt “Lipstick Sunset” Bring the Family, 1987 If you’ve got a minute, step back with me to a hot, sticky and stormy July night in 1995. I was a cashier at Hickory Hills Cinema, a modest six-screen complex in Florence, Alabama. And by “cashier”, I mean someone who is very good at both shoveling popcorn and encouraging people to buy more of it. The film Apollo 13 was the big summer hit and damned if John Hiatt didn’t walk right in and pay to see it. I must have recognized him from the cover of Bring the Family. So, that was that. I got to meet a musician that I liked. End scene. But then, re-open scene. The thunderstorm that had been brewing during the evening had fully come to bear (I later learned that it had become a tornado warning). The resulting power outages would have tried anyone’s patience. But, add the fact that our theater’s particular copy of Apollo 13 had already become damaged and been repaired too many times and we get John Hiatt angrily marching out of the theater on a few occasions to complain to anyone who would listen, which was me as I was the only fan he had there and then. The storm passed, but we continued to experience power outages. With every outage, the theaters were emptied, leaving everyone to pile up in the lobby (lit with those hazy, emergency lights) to wait until the power returned and they could return to whatever movie they had been watching. During one of these occasions, I looked up to see Mr. Hiatt standing alone and looking out of the large windows. It was the worst possible scenario for a fan to try to get an autograph, but I was young and oblivious. I cautiously approached him and held up a popcorn bag for him to sign, if he wouldn’t mind, please, Mr. Hiatt, sir, thank you. He did a slow turn and looked at me for a few seconds, then signed the bag. While he did, I told him that I thought “Lipstick Sunset” was such a beautiful and sad song. He grumbled in reply, perhaps seeing the irony of the cloudy sky that eavesdropped our conversation. While he may have had a bad night, I was still very happy to have met him. —Evan
