Hundreds gather for Whitney Houston’s funeral
Posted February 18, 2012 9:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, R Kelly and a host of gospel stars performed during the three hour and 45 minute-long ceremony, while actor Kevin Costner fought back tears as he gave a moving eulogy.
Houston’s cousin, soul singer Dionne Warwick, read a poem, while her long-time mentor, music mogul Clive Davis, and her sister-in-law Patricia Houston also gave moving tributes during the marathon service at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J.
Houston’s ex-husband Bobby Brown briefly appeared at the church but left shortly after the ceremony began.
“My children and I were invited to the funeral of my ex-wife Whitney Houston,” Brown later said in a statement. “We were seated by security and then subsequently asked to move on three separate occasions. I fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continued to ask us and no one else to move.
“In light of the events, I gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as I refused to create a scene.”
Costner, who starred with Houston in The Bodyguard spoke directly to the singer’s daughter, eighteen-year-old Bobbi Kristina.
“Your mother and I had a lot in common. I know many of you, in here are thinking: ‘Really?,'” he said to laughter from the crowd. “She’s a girl. You’re a boy. You’re white. She’s black. We heard you like to sing, but our sister could really sing.”
He recalled Houston’s apprehensiveness about accepting the role and the two years that passed between his initial offer to Houston and her decision to accept.
“The Whitney I knew, despite her fame and despite her success wondered: ‘Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me? It was the burden that made her great and the part that caused her stumble. Whitney, if you could hear me now, I’d tell you weren’t just good enough. You were great. You sang the whole damn song without a band.”
Houston’s mentor, music producer Clive Davis, told the crowd about how they would spend hours at his bungalow, ordering room service and listening to different musical tracks as they sat on the floor. He also touched on the star’s well documented problems with substance abuse.
“Personally, all I can say is that I loved her very much. Yes, she admitted to crisis in her life. Yes, she admitted to Oprah about her searing battles. When I needed her, she was there,” Davis said.
Keys wiped away tears as she described Houston as an “angel” and a “beautiful human being.”
Soul star Aretha Franklin was also scheduled to sing but was said to be too ill to attend. R. Kelly and Stevie Wonder both performed.
Movie mogul Tyler Perry said, “Say whatever you want about her, but she is resting, singing with angels. God bless you Whitney. We love you so much.”
The service ended with Houston’s coffin being carried out as her most popular song I Will Always Love You played over the church’s speaker system.
Written by Dolly Parton, Houston’s moving rendition is the best selling single of all time by a female artist.
The death of the star, one of the world’s best-selling artists in the 1980s and 1990s, prompted a worldwide outpouring of grief. But her family decided that they wanted her funeral to be a private invitation-only event with only a single camera allowed to film it.
The singer, 48, was found submerged in the bath in her hotel room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on Feb. 11.
Tracking the hashtag #RIPWhitneyHouston on Twitter:
