Bruce Springsteen [ tickets ] recently paid homage on his website to Madam Marie, an Asbury Park fortuneteller who gained worldwide attention when The Boss referenced her in his 1973 song "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)." Marie Castello, 93, who had told fortunes on the boardwalk since the 1930s, died June 27, according to the Asbury Park Press.

"Back in the day when I was a fixture on the Asbury Park boardwalk, I'd often stop by and talk to Madam Marie as she sat on her folding chair outside the Temple of Knowledge," Springsteen said. "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 Springsteen lyrics that made the fortuneteller famous--"Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie, for tellin' fortunes better than they do"--apparently were more flavor than fact. "That was just the Boss," Asbury Park Deputy Mayor Jim Bruno told the newspaper. "She was never arrested. But Springsteen turned her into an icon."

"The world has lost enough mystery as it is--we need our fortunetellers," Springsteen said in his online tribute. "We send our condolences out to her family who've carried on her tradition. Over here on E Street, we will miss her."

As evidenced by Springsteen's website post, the singer never forgot Madam Marie. "He always comes by to say hello," she told a Press columnist in May. "He knows where he came from."

Castello's family members continue to do readings at the Temple of Knowledge booth, located near the Convention Hall on the boardwalk, according to the Press.