Whitney Houston laid to rest at private NJ burial

WESTFIELD, N.J. (AP) — Whitney Houston was laid to rest Sunday at a brief private ceremony in New Jersey, the end of a weekend that saw the pop star's family and friends gather at a star-studded funeral to mourn her loss while celebrating her career.

Fans and onlookers gathered in several places along the route the motorcade took from the Newark funeral home to the cemetery about 20 miles away in Westfield, where Houston was buried next to her father, who died in 2003.

The 48-year-old singer died Feb. 11 in California, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammy Awards party. No cause of death has been determined.

On Saturday, she was mourned at an invitation-only funeral at the church in Newark where she sang in the choir as a child. She was remembered by the biggest names in the music: Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys sang, and industry mogul Clive Davis was among those who spoke, as was Kevin Costner, Houston's co-star in "The Bodyguard."

The funeral was closed to fans, who were not allowed within blocks of the church. Still, many came to Newark to take part in what ways they could, some from as far as Miami and Washington, D.C.

Fans gathered again near the funeral home Sunday morning, and some even slowly ran alongside the hearse as it began the journey to Houston's gravesite. Several yelled out "We love you, Whitney" as the hearse, which had a black and white headshot of the star in a window, slowly drove away.

Barbara Davis, 53, of Newark, said she had been waiting outside the funeral home since 8:30 a.m., hoping to get a glimpse of Houston's final trip.

"To be here at her home-going is an honor and a blessing," Davis told The Star-Ledger of Newark.

Also among the crowd was Newark resident Eva Aquino and her two granddaughters, ages 10 and 13. All three stood on a street corner as the hearse passed by, and they used cellphones to snap photos of the procession.

The girls were wearing T-shirts and buttons of Houston that their grandmother had bought from vendors outside the funeral home Saturday.

"We came here and bought all these things of her to cherish the memories," said 13-year-old Nalani Velez of Kearny.

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Whitney Houston fans to follow funeral on Internet

NEW YORK (AP) — They won't be there in person, but singer Whitney Houston's millions of fans worldwide will be able to share in her homecoming service Saturday as they watch her private funeral on the Internet.

It will provide a much-needed connection for fans who have lacked a formal place to eulogize Houston, one of the world's best-selling artists who died in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Saturday at the age of 48.

Some have gathered and placed flowers outside the Newark, N.J., church where the funeral will be held by invitation-only at the request of Houston's family, who wish to maintain some privacy. Others have stopped by the funeral home. But many have longed to share more fully in commemorating the superstar's life, and have shown their grief in one of the few ways available to them — by buying her music.

Houston's funeral will be at New Hope Baptist Church, where she sang as a child. Her eulogy will be given by gospel singer Marvin Winans, a Grammy Award winner and longtime family friend. Afterward, Houston will be buried in Fair View Cemetery in Westfield, N.J., according to her death certificate. Her father, John Russell Houston Jr., was buried there in 2003.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, investigators for the coroner's office have subpoenaed records from the singer's doctors and pharmacies who dispensed medication found in the hotel room where she died.

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said such inquiries are routine in virtually all death investigations.

Investigators have not said what medications they have recovered from Houston's room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The singer was found underwater in a bathtub by a member of her staff hours before she planned to attend a chic pre-Grammy gala. Police have said there were no signs of foul play and Winter said there were no signs of trauma on her body when an autopsy was conducted on Sunday.

It will be weeks before toxicology results reveal the medications and quantities, if any, that were in Houston's system when she died. The Grammy winner's history of substance abuse has added to the speculation that her death may have been caused by prescription drugs.

In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Houston talked about how she was deeply shaken by the death of singer Michael Jackson. Jackson died at age 51 that year from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

Houston recalled taping a show celebrating Jackson's 30th anniversary celebration in 2001. Both stars were strikingly thin.

"I was getting scared," she told Winfrey. "I was looking at myself going, 'No, I don't want this to be like this. This can't happen. Not both of us.'"

Like Jackson, Houston was on the verge of a career comeback before her death on Feb. 11. And, like Jackson, sales of her recordings have soared since her passing as fans try to recapture her glory days in the 1980s and 1990s. Old recordings have been propelled to the top of sales charts on iTunes and Amazon.com.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, announced Wednesday that The Associated Press will be allowed a camera at Saturday's funeral in Newark. The AP will stream the service on http://livestream.com/aplive. The event also will be available to broadcasters via satellite.

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Associated Press entertainment writer Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

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Family and friends gather for Houston goodbye

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — To the world, Whitney Houston was the pop queen with the perfect voice, the dazzling diva with regal beauty, a troubled superstar suffering from addiction and, finally, another victim of the dark side of fame.

To her family and friends, she was just "Nippy." A nickname given to Houston when she was a child, it stuck with her through adulthood and, later, would become the name of one of her companies. To them, she was a sister, a friend, a daughter, and a mother.

While the world remembers Houston from afar, those closest to her will gather Saturday at a private funeral to say goodbye. They come together at New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston wowed the congregation with her powerful voice even as a young girl.

The service marks exactly one week after the 48-year-old Houston — one of music's all-time biggest stars — was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel in California. A cause of death has yet to be determined.

Close family friend Aretha Franklin, whom Houston lovingly called "Aunt Ree," is expected to sing at the service, as is Stevie Wonder and gospel star CeCe Winans. Music mogul Clive Davis, who launched and shepherded her career throughout the decades, may speak, along with Kevin Costner, her co-star in the blockbuster film "The Bodyguard."

Her ex-husband Bobby Brown also is expected to attend, along with the couple's only child, Bobbi Kristina.

Houston's death marked the final chapter for the superstar whose fall from grace while shocking 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 multi-platinum records.

Over her career, she sold more than 50 million records in the United States alone. Her voice, an ideal blend of power, grace and beauty, made classics out of songs like "Saving All My Love For You," ''I Will Always Love You," ''The Greatest Love of All" and "I'm Every Woman." Her six Grammys were only a fraction of her many awards.

But amid the fame, a turbulent marriage to Brown and her addiction to drugs tarnished her image. She became a woman falling apart in front of the world.

Her last album, "I Look To You," debuted on the top of the charts when it was released in 2009 with strong sales, but didn't have the staying power of her previous records. A tour the next year was doomed by cancellations because of illness and sub-par performances.

Still, a comeback was ahead: She was to star in the remake of the movie "Sparkle" and was working on new music. Her family, friends and hard-core fans were hopeful.

The funeral is for invited guests only. Houston is scheduled to be buried next to her father, John Houston, in nearby Westfield, N.J.

The Associated Press will stream the funeral service on the Internet at www.livestream.com/aplive and broadcasters also will be able to air it.

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Online:

http://www.whitneyhouston.com

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Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

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