[4] One of the best-known and most praised of his early efforts,[5] the song remains one of his most popular ballads,[6] and has been described as "the perfect musical study of the Jersey Shore boardwalk culture".

Locals include the "stoned-out faces", "switchblade lovers" and "the greasers" who "tramp the streets or get busted for sleeping on the beach all night".

[9][10] "Sandy" showcases the wistful side of Springsteen; Los Angeles Times writer Robert Hilburn later wrote that "the verses [were] whispered as if he was singing into his girlfriend's ear.

[11] Lahav, the wife of Springsteen's sound engineer at the time, would not be credited for her role,[11] but would later join the E Street Band for six months as a violinist and singer.

"Sandy" would, however, along with "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", become fan favorites from the album,[5][6] and would garner progressive rock radio airplay during the ramp-up of Springsteen's visibility preceding the 1975 release of Born to Run.

"Sandy" was included on Springsteen and the E Street Band's best-selling 1986 box set Live/1975–85, in a 1980 Nassau Coliseum performance that nevertheless had a "club feel" to it.

The song was a mainstay of Springsteen and the E Street Band's concert set lists during the early part of his career, and a 1975 performance is included on the 2006 Hammersmith Odeon London '75 audio and video release.

[15] Within the E Street Band, the song was heavily identified with Danny Federici's accordion part, which is the main musical element.

"Sandy" was played several times late on the first leg of the 2007–2008 Magic Tour, including Federici's final regular appearance in November 2007 before taking a leave of absence for melanoma treatment.

In July 2008, the live EP Magic Tour Highlights was released, with the final Federici performance of "Sandy" the closing track.

While not a big hit unto itself, The Hollies' use of "Sandy" presaged other artists mining the early Springsteen songbook for material, a notion that would soon be exploited to much greater commercial success by Manfred Mann's Earth Band and others.

[23] Springsteen offered memories and condolences of her on his website, saying: "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.

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.