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Rousing tribute to music legend Whitney Houston at star-studded funeral
Published: Sunday, February 19, 2012, 7:02 AM Updated: Sunday, February 19, 2012, 7:24 AM

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger

Enlarge Star-Ledger Staff About an hour before the funeral for Whitney Houston is scheduled to begin, fans begin to sign a gigantic card as part of the scene on Sussex Avenue near Jay Street. Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger Whitney Houston funeral photos: part 2 gallery (39 photos)

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NEWARK — In a service by turns rousing and poignant, family members, friends and luminaries of the entertainment world Saturday celebrated the life of Whitney Houston, a gifted pop princess who enchanted millions with her talent and yet struggled with the demands of outsized fame.
Nearly 1,500 people streamed into Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church for Houston’s funeral, a 3½-hour "home going service" that blended gospel strains and scripture with personal anecdotes and soaring musical performances.
Houston, a Newark native who died last week at age 48, sang in the junior choir at New Hope as a child. And despite calls for a public funeral, it was at New Hope where Houston’s mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, insisted her daughter be given her farewell.
The Rev. Marvin Winans, a close family friend and Houston’s eulogist, thanked Cissy Houston for her decision, calling it courageous.
"You brought the world to church today," Winans told her.
Houston is to be buried today at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.

Stevie Wonder sings special rendition of 'Ribbon in the Sky' at Whitney Houston's funeral Musician Stevie Wonder sings a personalized version of his song "Ribbon in the Sky" at Whitney Houston's funeral at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. (Source: AP Pool) Watch video
Hundreds of fans, some from as far away as Florida, gathered in the streets near New Hope, outside a perimeter set up by police to give the family privacy. Inside the soaring church, it was an assembly befitting one of the top-selling female vocalists of all time.
Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, R Kelly and gospel singer Bebe Winans performed during the service. Others in attendance included Mariah Carey, Spike Lee, Forrest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Cicely Tyson, pop singer Darlene Love, filmmaker Tyler Perry, Roberta Flack, Mary J. Blige and actor Kevin Costner, Houston’s co-star in the 1992 film "The Bodyguard."
Singer Bobby Brown, with whom Houston shared a tempestuous 14-year marriage, arrived at the church shortly before noon but left some 20 minutes later after a dispute about seating for his entourage. He later blamed the altercation on security officers, a claim Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio denied.
"He was informed very clearly that he did not have to leave," said DeMaio, who personally handled the situation.
A handful of celebrities who had been invited to the service didn’t make it. Among them were Elton John, David Bowie, Rod Stewart and Aretha Franklin, Houston’s godmother, who said in a statement she was ill.
But the absences did little to dim the star power or emotion in the church.
Houston’s daughter, 18-year-old Bobbi Kristina Brown, sat next to Cissy Houston, often with her arm around her grandmother’s shoulders. Nearly all of the performers and speakers stopped by, before or after they walked onto the altar, to kiss and embrace the two.

Enlarge Star-Ledger Staff Pallbearers place the casket of Whitney Houston into a hearse after the rousing funeral service at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. (Noah K. Murray/The Star Ledger) Whitney Houston funeral photos: part 4 gallery (45 photos)

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Houston’s casket, heaped with purple and white flowers, lay before the altar. Large matching flower arrangements sat on each side.
A white-clad choir, featuring more than 100 members of the New Hope Mass Choir and the New Jersey Mass Choir, sat on one side of the stage, with dignitaries, dressed in black, on the other. A seven-piece band led by Rickey Minor, Houston’s longtime music director, accompanied some of the singers.
Dionne Warwick, Houston’s cousin, introduced each singer and speaker.
Throughout the service, there were moments of levity and moments of palpable grief.
Near the end, as Houston’s casket was carried out to the sound of her biggest hit, "I Will Always Love You," Bobbi Kristina began crying, and the sobs of Houston’s mother rang throughout the church.
"My baby!" she wailed.
Speaker after speaker lauded Houston as a unique talent whose range and power reached into people.
Music producer Clive Davis, who discovered Houston and guided her career, recalled hearing her sing for the first time in 1983.
"You wait for a voice like that for a lifetime," Davis said. "You wait for a smile like that — a presence like that — for a lifetime and when one person embodies it all, it takes your breath away."

Enlarge Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger Walking with an unidentified woman, Bobby Brown, ex-husband of Whitney Houston, leaves the New Hope Baptist Church where Houston's funeral is being held today. Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger Whitney Houston funeral photos: part 3 gallery (23 photos)

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But for all the success she would build over decades, selling more than 50 million records in the United States alone, Houston struggled with her own confidence.
In a moving speech, Costner recalled Houston was terrified before her screen test for "The Bodyguard" and feared she would be rejected.
"The Whitney I knew ... still wondered, ‘Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me’
"It’s the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble at the end," Costner said.
He concluded his talk with a note of encouragement for her even today.
"So off you go, Whitney, off you go, escorted by an army of angels, to your heavenly father," Costner said. "And when you sing before him, don’t you worry. You’ll be good enough."
It was a week ago Saturday when Houston was discovered dead, submerged in the bathtub at a Beverly Hills Hotel. While bottles of prescription pills were found in her room, authorities have yet to determine a cause of death.
Houston’s on-again, off-again struggles with alcohol and drug addiction have been well documented. But in recent weeks, she told friends she was working hard to stay on a healthy path ahead of the upcoming release of her new movie, "Sparkle," a remake that tells the story of a mother raising three musically inclined daughters. The movie is due out in August.
Davis, the music producer, said he spoke with Houston just days before her death.
"I’m getting in shape. I’m swimming an hour or two a day. No cigarettes," he said she told him.
Houston’s brother-in-law and bodyguard, Ray Watson, also spoke of those final days, saying Houston talked about the Bible and the future.
"She laid her head on my shoulder and she said, ‘We’re gonna be all right,’ " he recalled Saturday.

Whitney Houston's casket brought out to 'I Will Always Love You' Her hit song, "I Will Always Love You", was the final song played concluding the private funeral ceremony for Whitney Houston as pallbearers carried the casket out of the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ. (Source: AP Pool) Watch video
Keys, her voice catching with emotion, said Houston’s death is a loss for an entire generation of young performers, noting the superstar had been a mentor to young women, offering guidance and support.
Houston, she said, "made us feel strong and capable and loved. She’s an angel to us. And just been a beautiful human being."
The funeral brought out not only celebrities but a handful of politicians.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a one-time presidential candidate, paid his respects first at Whigham Funeral Home and again at New Hope.
"We have no idea the depths of her pain," Jackson said. "What we mostly knew about her is she sang so beautifully."
Inside the church, Gov. Chris Christie sat beside Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who welcomed the gathering with a brief speech as the service opened.
"God is in Heaven, and with him is one of our angels, Whitney Houston," Booker said.
Cissy Houston did not speak during the ceremony. But the service’s program contained a personal note from mother to daughter, the girl she and other family members called "Nippy."
"I never told you that when you were born, the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long, and I thank God for the beautiful flower He allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years," Cissy Houston wrote.
"God said it’s time Nippy; your work is done. ... Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter. Rest, my baby girl, in peace; you’re now in the arms of Jesus."

Kevin Costner evokes laughter, sad silence from the church with moving tribute to Whitney Houston Actor Kevin Costner, known for his role alongside Whitney Houston in the movie, "The Bodyguard", took to the podium at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark and regaled stories about his friendship with the pop star and budding actress and delivered a touching tribute that ended with a standing ovation. (Source: AP Pool) Watch video
After the service, Houston’s casket was placed in a gold hearse, and family members filed into limousines. Later, they gathered for a repast at the Newark Club restaurant, inside a downtown office building closed off to the public for the day.
Fans shouted "I love you Whitney" while Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z quietly walked up a narrow red carpet and whooshed through revolving doors.
Newark police — who were out in force on foot, motorcycles and horseback — reported no problems with the event.
Around the church, members of the media — some from as far away as Australia and Japan — far outnumbered fans, who were told days ago they would not have a view of the celebrities.
Old Bridge resident Michelle Johnson, 50, didn’t need the full-on view. All she wanted was a glimpse of Houston’s hearse.
Clutching two photos of Houston and standing behind police barricades, Johnson finally the chance shortly after 4 p.m., when the hearse passed along Newark Street.
"I’m complete," Johnson said. "Now Whitney’s at rest, so now I can go home and rest."

Star-Ledger staff writers Jessica Calefati, Victoria St. Martin, Jay Lustig, David Giambusso, James Queally and Lisa Rose contributed to this report

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