Madam Marie will be there 'in spirit' when Bruce Springsteen, E Street play Sea Hear Now

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are playing the beach in Asbury Park on Sunday, Sept. 15, in the Sea Hear Now festival — and Madam Marie would have loved it.

Madam Marie, Springsteen and the Asbury Park boardwalk will forever be connected in lore because Springsteen referenced the fortune teller in his classic “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” from the 1973 album “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.”

“Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie for telling fortunes better than they do?” Springsteen sings on the track.

Sabrina Castello, Madam Marie's granddaughter, who tells fortunes at the Temple of Knowledge with her sister, Dainzie Castello, will be listening for the song on Sunday.

More: New Sea Hear Now experience awaits Bruce Springsteen in Asbury Park. Here's the schedule

“I'm wishing him all the best,” Sabrina said. “I'm so grateful and thankful for the wonderful fame and fortune that has been applied to both of them due to his reading with her many moons ago, and excited to have him back here in Asbury performing.”

Madam Marie passed away in 2008 at the age of 93. Springsteen dedicated a performance of “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” in Gothenburg, Sweden, to her and her family at the time.

“Back in the day when I was a fixture on the Asbury Park boardwalk, I'd often stop and talk to Madam Marie as she sat on her folding chair outside the Temple of Knowledge,” said Springsteen from the stage. “I'd sit across from her on the metal guard rail bordering the beach, and watched as she led the day trippers into the small back room where she would unlock a few of the mysteries of their future.

"She always told me mine looked pretty good — she was right. The world has lost enough mystery as it is — we need our fortune tellers. We send our condolences out to her family who've carried on her tradition. Over here on E Street, we will miss her.”

More: Sea Hear Now boat cruises ready to rock for Bruce Springsteen on Asbury Park beach

The Temple of Knowledge is busier than ever with lots of Springsteen fans coming through to have their futures divined, Sabrina said.

“We'll be here doing readings for all the Bruce fans,” said Sabrina of Sunday. “They're all going to get a nice discount.”

Madam Marie opened the Temple of Knowledge on the boardwalk in 1932.

“She would love that he's here performing ...,” Sabrina said. “She'll be here in spirit.”

Subscribe to app.com for the latest on the New Jersey music scene.

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Springsteen at Sea Hear Now: Madam Marie there in spirit