HOUSTON. A swan song for pop music’s tragic, troubled queen.
NEWARK, New Jersey—The guest list and the parade of limousines with celebrities emerging from them seemed more suited to a red carpet event in Hollywood or New York than to a gritty stretch of Sussex Avenue near the James M. Baxter Terrace public housing project here.
Yet speaker after speaker at the funeral of Whitney Houston on Saturday afternoon kept coming back to her strong attachment to New Hope Baptist Church, where her talents were first recognized and where the funeral was held.
“Whitney returns home today to the place where it all began,” said actor Kevin Costner, who starred opposite Houston in the 1992 hit film, “The Bodyguard.”
Costner urged those around the world to “dry our tears, suspend our sorrow—and perhaps our anger—just long enough, just long enough to remember the sweet miracle of Whitney.”
After all the testimonials from relatives and friends, the songs from legends and pop stars, the preaching and even laughter, the raw emotion of Houston’s funeral came down to just one moment: The sound of her own voice.
As the strains of her biggest record, “I Will Always Love You,” filled the church at the end of the nearly four-hour service and her silver-and-gold casket was lifted in the air, the weight of the moment was too much for her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, to bear.
Cissy wailed, “My baby! My baby!” as she was led out the church behind her daughter’s body.
A few steps behind her was the pop icon’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina, also crying uncontrollably as she was comforted by Houston’s close friend, singer Ray J.
It was the most searing scene on a day with mixed moods as family, friends and celebrities came to the humble church to remember one of music’s legends, but also a New Jersey hometown girl.
Charmed life
Houston died on February 11 in Beverly Hills, California, on the eve of the Grammys at age 48. Her death marked the end of a life that was marked by stunning achievements: Blessed with a voice of great power and beauty, Houston became one of pop music’s most successful artists over a career that spanned nearly three decades.
But her struggles with drugs and very public fall from grace during tumultuous times, including a union with ex-husband Bobby Brown, were among the many valleys in her life.
Both sides of Houston were recalled at the service at New Hope, which was filled with about 300 mourners, including Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Diane Sawyer and Houston’s cousin, Dionne Warwick.
“She was someone with a charmed and a beautiful life, sometimes misunderstood, even by herself,” said her sister-in-law and manager, Patricia Houston. “But a life nevertheless that gave joy, happiness, enthusiasm, peace and beautiful music to millions of people around the world.”
Costner said that for all of Houston’s beauty and success, she was still yearning for approval from the public—and still somewhat insecure, a superstar who “still wondered, ‘Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me?’”
“It’s a tree we could all hang from—the unexplainable burden that comes with fame,” he said. “Call it doubt. Call it fear. I’ve had mine. And I know the famous in the room have had theirs.”
Faith in Jesus
Many who spoke talked about Houston’s unshakable faith in Jesus Christ, which got her through some of her most difficult times. Perry recalled a conversation where Houston would look sad when reflecting on her troubles, but then would hasten to add that God was taking care of her.
“The other thing I know for sure—and this is more important than anything that she’s done in her life—Whitney Houston loved the Lord,” he said.
A ribbon in the sky
Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder spoke of once having “a little crush” on Houston before singing a version of his 1982 R&B hit “Ribbon In The Sky,” inserting the lyrics “No more, Whitney, No more, Do you have to cry—You’ll always be a ribbon in the sky.”
R. Kelly brought the church to its feet with a stirring version of “I Look to You,” the title of Houston’s final studio album.
And Keys, her voice breaking at times, dedicated her song “Send Me An Angel” to Houston
Brown briefly appeared at her funeral, walking to the casket, touching it and walking out. He later said in a statement that he and his children were asked repeatedly to move and he left rather than risk creating a scene.
Close family friend Aretha Franklin, whom Houston lovingly called “Aunt Ree,” had been expected to sing at the service, but said she was too ill to attend.
Warwick presided over the funeral. She joked that Houston’s Super Bowl performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” became almost as big as the telephone book.
Buried next to father
As the funeral began, mourners fell quiet as three police officers escorted Houston’s casket, draped with white roses and purple lilies. White-robed choir members began to fill the pews on the podium.
As the band played softly, the choir sang in a hushed voice, “Whitney, Whitney, Whitney.”
A program featuring a picture of Houston looking skyward read “Celebrating the life of Whitney Elizabeth Houston, a child of God.”
“I never told you that when you were born, the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long,” Cissy Houston wrote her daughter in a letter published in the program. “And I thank God for the beautiful flower He allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years.”
Houston’s death marked the final chapter for the superstar whose fall from grace was years in the making. Houston had her first No. 1 hit by the time she was 22, followed by a flurry of No. 1 songs and multiplatinum records.
Houston is to be buried on Sunday next to her father, John Houston, in nearby Westfield, New Jersey. Reports from AP, New York Times News Service and Reuters