NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Timberlake, Jay-Z to do joint tour

NEW YORK

Put on your suit and tie: Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z are hitting the road together.

The performers announced Friday that they’ll embark on a 12-city stadium tour that will kick off July 17 in Toronto. “Legends of the Summer” will wrap up Aug. 16 in Miami.

Stops on the tour also include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston. Neither Pittsburgh nor Cleveland are included on the tour.

Jay-Z is featured on Timberlake’s comeback single, “Suit & Tie.”

Timberlake’s new album, “The 20/20 Experience,” will be released March 19.

McCready’s funeral is Tuesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Mindy McCready’s funeral has been scheduled for Tuesday in her hometown of Fort Myers, Fla.

The funeral for the late country star will take place at Crossroads Church. A Friday news release says a Nashville memorial organized by friends and the music community is tentatively scheduled for March 6 at Cathedral of the Incarnation.

McCready committed suicide Sunday at her home in Heber Springs, Ark., days after leaving a court-ordered substance abuse treatment program. The 37-year-old mother of two died from a single gunshot to the head about a month after her longtime boyfriend, David Wilson, was believed to have killed himself in the same location.

Gospel singer Cleotha Staples dies

CHICAGO

Cleotha Staples, the eldest sibling in the highly influential gospel group The Staple Singers, has died. She was 78.

Staples’ family friend and music publicist Bill Carpenter says Staples died Thursday at her Chicago home after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for the last decade.

The Staple Singers began as a way for Roebuck “Pops” Staples to entertain his family, which included five children — Cleotha, known as “Cleedi,” Pervis, Yvonne, Mavis and Cynthia. He taught the children gospel songs and accompanied them on his guitar. Two decades later, they became unlikely hit makers for the Stax label.

Staples was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with her family in 1999 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 2005.

Lane signed divorce document

LOS ANGELES

Court records show Diane Lane signed her filing to divorce Josh Brolin on Valentine’s Day.

Lane’s petition to end the actors’ marriage after eight and a half years was filed Feb. 15.

Her filing, released Friday, lists irreconcilable differences for the couple’s breakup and lists Feb. 13 as their separation date. It does not indicate they have a prenuptial agreement.

The actors have no children together. It was a second marriage for both when they tied the knot in August 2004.

Lane received an Oscar nomination for her performance in the 2002 film “Unfaithful” and co-stars in the upcoming Superman film “Man of Steel.”

Brolin was Oscar-nominated for his performance in 2008’s “Milk” and recently starred in “Gangster Squad.”

A representative for the couple confirmed the divorce Thursday.

Vindicator wire services