Alex Chilton is strolling through the women's clothing section of the Woolworth's at Rampart and Canal, discussing astrology and rain coats.

Astrology had come up a few moments ago at the department store's lunch counter, the locale Chilton had selected as the setting for an extremely rare chat with a reporter. According to Sacred Symbols of the Ancients, a book the musician consults frequently, his birthday corresponds to the three of hearts. That card falls at the beginning of a...