SHORT TAKES : Oldies Stars Awarded Royalties

Pop music stars of the ‘60s, B. J. Thomas, Gene Pitney and the Shirelles, will share in a court award of some $850,000, based on unpaid royalties.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Higgins assessed the award this week against a defunct record company. Thomas, whose hits include “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” is to receive $177,299. Pitney, known for teen heartthrob songs such as “Town Without Pity,” is owed $187,762. Members of the Shirelles, an all-female group whose recordings included “Soldier Boy,” were awarded $119,537 each.

The singers had filed suit in 1987, claiming that Gusto Records Inc. and GML Inc. had improperly seized master recordings that had passed through several owners over the years.