[Gary Tuchman, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everybody. Right now Whitney Houston's family and friends are arriving at a Newark, New Jersey, church, getting ready to remember the singing legend. We have just learned who will perform at the funeral. We'll share that with you in just a moment. And we'll talk with Chilli from the group TLC. Other musical artists, and also Whitney Houston's, Whitney, that is, her elementary school principal. We'll talk with him also. He's tell what the famous singer was really like. From the CNN center in Atlanta, this is CNN Saturday morning. I'm Gary Tuchman. Well, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, and Stevie Wonder are just a few of the people who will sing at Whitney Houston's funeral today. We're two hours from the expected start. So let's check in with our Jason Carroll who is there in Newark, New Jersey, right now. Jason, what else can you tell us about the program that will be taking place today?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, a friend of the family gave me a rundown on what we can expect to hear and see when the funeral gets underway. That expected time, 12:00 noon. So let's start off from the very beginning just to let you know. First it will start off with the New Hope mass choir and the New Jersey mass choir. Today they'll be singing "The Lord is my Shepherd." Following that will be Pastor Joe Carter. I spoke to him earlier this week. He will be reading a scripture. He told me, look, we'll be acknowledging the hurt, there'll be a lot of tears, but we will also be celebrating the musical life that was Whitney Houston. That will be followed by a solo by Donnie McClurkin who will be singing "Stand." Then there will be remarks by filmmaker Tyler Perry, a friend of Whitney Houston and the Houston family. That will be followed by a solo by Bebe Winans singing "Home," followed by remarks by Bishop T.D. Jakes. Then we will hear from Kim Burrell. She has known Whitney Houston for some 13 friends. Kim Burrell well known in the gospel community. She will be singing "I Believe in You and Me." And, Gary, that was a song actually chosen by the Houston family. Then we will hear remarks from Kevin Costner, "Bodyguard" co-star. Many know the actor Kevin Costner. Then we will hear from the queen of soul herself. Aretha Franklin will be singing "The Greatest Love of All." Then we'll be hearing remarks from Clive Davis. Obviously a lot of folks know that name in the music industry. He was mentor for Whitney Houston for many, many years. Then there will be a solo from Stevie Wonder. And Stevie Wonder will be singing "A Ribbon in the Sky." Then there will be remarks by Ricky Minor, the band leader, a medley from Alicia Keys. That will be followed by a solely by R. Kelly. He will be singing "I Look to You." Then I'm told we'll be hearing from Houston's family. First up will be Patricia Houston, Whitney Houston's sister-in-law. And then we'll be hearing from Dionne Warwick. She'll be giving the closing remarks. So a lot of emotional highs and lows we'll be hearing about when the service gets underway. It's expected to last about three hours, and I'm told Whitney Houston will finally be laid to rest tomorrow. Gary?
[Tuchman:] Jason, thank you very much. There is a lot of movement right now around the New Hope Baptist Church. CNN's Don Lemon also joins us live with the latest from his vantage point. Don?
[Don Lemon, Cnn Correspondent:] I just want to show you people are starting to arrive here. This is the ground shot. They're arriving in this parking lot and they walk in. Some of them who are high- profile guests will get out on the other side of the church there. And I want to bring in someone here, the reverend DeForest Soaries, who I think it's important. People underestimate how well you knew the family, how much you know about this community, how well you knew Whitney Houston. She was you're very close to her family. And today is really a tough day not only for you, not only for the family, but for people here in the Newark, New Jersey, area.
[Deforest Soaries, Family Friend:] Well, first of all, don, this whole family has meant so much to this community. First African-American mayor of Newark was elected in 1970. John Houston, Whitney's dad, was a part of that movement. He worked in his administration. He worked in community development. And that's how I met the family. But then Dionne Warwick is around icon, and her father started a gospel record company right here in this community and they attended that church right there. This family and this community inextricably linked, so as a young activist, even before I was a preacher, I came to know the Houstons as just good folks. I grew up two miles away from where she lived in East Orange. And as her talent emerged, we saw a star in the making.
[Lemon:] Look this way. Is this surreal to you standing here? We've got the media and the satellite trucks. There's the abandoned housing projects behind you, and in front of us, we're standing here looking let's go over this way at the New Hope Baptist Church where Whitney Houston sage, her mom was a choir director they're getting some dignitaries through here. For you to stand here and look at this, can you believe that this is happening?
[Soaries:] No. I told my wife this morning I don't want to go. I can't believe what's happening. This church is so significant to this community. This is one of the first churches to begin building affordable housing for low income people. This church right in this building had a job training program.
[Lemon:] This big building here.
[Soaries:] After the riots. This church was one of the first churches in America to have jobs for people in the neighborhood.
[Lemon:] Newark riots.
[Soaries:] In 1967. This pastor of this church was one of the first ministers in the area, mainline church, to be on the radio. Every Sunday at 12:00 New Hope Baptist Church came on the radio.
[Lemon:] Is that why it was so important for the Houstons to belong to this church?
[Soaries:] There were four or five Baptist churches. Most African- American churches in New Jersey are Baptist. There were four or five churches, Metropolitan Baptist church, Zion Baptist church, and this church. This New Hope Baptist church is really foundational to black people not only around New Jersey but around the country. The former pastor of this church who really built it, C.E. Thomas, was on the board of SELC. When Dr. King came to Newark, he would come to this church. The undertaker is the founder of New Jersey's only black bank, City National Bank. And these two families go back to the 1960s.
[Lemon:] And the Houstons were part of that John Houston, Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick.
[Soaries:] Yes, all of that history comes out of this church. Then of course you had Lawrence Roberts who was not from this church but connected to the family. He now is deceased, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Nutley. He helped Cissy and Dionne with their music. Doris Duke belonged to his church. The wealthiest woman in America belonged to a black Baptist church.
[Lemon:] Here's the interesting thing. Everybody is saying, reverend, no Prudential Center, I can't believe they're not going to have fans, because they feel that Whitney Houston was part of them as well and they feel ownership. Now you've given us context in why Cissy Houston said her home-going is going to be at this church, and I don't give a darn. We're going to send Whitney home, Nippy home, from this church which means so much to this church and this community.
[Soaries:] Well, it's about being able to control the spiritual and cultural depth of the moment. The Prudential Center would be an event, a spectacle, but it would not be consistent with the values of this family, this tradition, and the values of Whitney herself. This was the best way to articulate within the cultural and religious context how we feel about Whitney Houston.
[Lemon:] Take us forward, please. What are we going to see? We're going to see some crying, some sadness, but we're going to see some shouting and happiness and celebration.
[Soaries:] We're going see worship, first of all. Worship is a human expression to the divine. And so this is not a performance. This is a worship experience. And Pastor Carter with whom I just spoke is determined to lead a worship experience to ensure that god is pleased with the celebration of one of his children. And then we're going to see praise that hopefully will bring some comfort to the family. There is an unusual level of pain. But praise can overcome pain.
[Lemon:] Reverend, thank you for putting that into context. As we stand in front of the New Hope missionary Baptist church where Whitney Houston will be memorialized and have, as they say, a home going.
[Soaries:] Not homecoming, home going.
[Lemon:] And be laid to rest tomorrow. Back to you, Gary.
[Tuchman:] Don, thank you. Thank the reverend for us, and thank you to you also. We do want to mention that while Don was talking we got our first live look inside the church. People are starting to go inside the church, and we saw the casket of Whitney Houston that was already garnished with flowers in front of the church. One other point I wanted to make about Newark, they were talking about the history of the Newark area. Fascinating city. It lost 40 percent of its city between 1970 and 1990, and that came after the 1967 civil rights riots. But between 1990 and now it's actually gained some of its population back. About 275,000 people live there. It's New Jersey's largest city. And our coverage of Houston's funeral will continue throughout the morning. Soledad O'Brien and Piers Morgan will anchor our special report that begins 50 minutes from now at 11:00 a.m. We have great stories to share about Whitney Houston. Coming up next, the pop queen's former elementary school principle joins me live.