- published: 10 Aug 2011
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Bullet was a one-hit wonder American rock band. Its only hit, "White Lies, Blue Eyes", peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1972. Band member (keyboards, vocals) Roget Pontbriand went on to play with K.C. and the Sunshine Band and Wild Cherry. Other members included Ernie Sorrentino and Mike Micara.
An English band, once known as "Bullet", often is mistakenly given credit for the hit "White Lies, Blue Eyes". This group formed in London; it included former Atomic Rooster members John Cann (vocalist) and Paul Hammond (drummer). The English "Bullet" changed their name to Hard Stuff because of the American band named "Bullet". In the UK, "White Lies, Blue Eyes" was released on the Philips label under the name of Bullet U.S.A..
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration. The word "bullet" is sometimes colloquially used to refer to ammunition in general, or to a cartridge, which is a combination of the bullet, case/shell, powder, and primer.
The history of bullets far predates the history of firearms. Originally, bullets were metallic or stone balls used in a sling as a weapon and for hunting. Eventually as firearms were developed, these same items were placed in front of an explosive charge of gun powder at the end of a closed tube. As firearms became more technologically advanced, from 1500 to 1800, bullets changed very little. They remained simple round (spherical) lead balls, called rounds, differing only in their diameter.
The development of the hand culverin and matchlock arquebus brought about the use of cast lead balls as projectiles. "Bullet" is derived from the French word boulette which roughly means little ball. The original musket bullet was a spherical lead ball smaller than the bore, wrapped in a loosely-fitted paper patch which served to hold the bullet in the barrel firmly upon the powder. (Bullets that were not firmly upon the powder upon firing risked causing the barrel to explode, with the condition known as a short start.) The loading of muskets was, therefore, easy with the old smooth-bore Brown Bess and similar military muskets. The original muzzle-loading rifle, on the other hand, with a more closely fitting ball to take the rifling grooves, was more difficult to load, particularly when the bore of the barrel was fouled from previous firings. For this reason, early rifles were not generally used for military purposes.
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