A brief visual history of Boston's Nightfall Magazine, by Brian Coleman (www.BrianColemanBooks.com), in collaboration with the David Bieber Archives (www.DavidBieberArchives.com).
Nightfall magazine was first published by DJ, producer / remixer and record promotion impresario John “Top Cat” Luongo and partner Warren Frank in the spring of 1975, to shine a light on and support the burgeoning “discotheque” club and DJ scene in Boston. Originally printed 5 ½” x 8 ½” and twice-monthly, by the summer of 1975 it was both glossy and monthly. Nightfall started out disco-focused, but it quickly became broader in scope, including columnists covering everything from jazz, sweet soul and Latin music, to theater, restaurants and fashion. Even so, Disco and DJ-centric music was never far from its heart, as Luongo continued to print his “Disco Dozen" and even “Double Dozen” picks columns, to let readers know his personal opinion of the hottest new 12-inch singles and albums. By 1977, Nightfall was 8” x 11” in size, and it continued until 1979, when it stopped publication. Along the way, it boasted an impressive array and caliber of writers and editors, including: Mike Freedberg, Charles Giuliano, Al Julian, Ron Robin, Ed Symkus, Tony Mastrianni, Rafael Toro, Rod Knight, Jon Pareles, Dennis Metrano, Lloyd Schwartz, Carolyn Kelley, John Lanoutte Brenner, Daniel Dern, Jerry Maisel, Sam Lasoff, Roger Wolf, David Brudnoy, John Michael Williams and many more.