1973 for his friend Gene Parsons' debut solo album Kindling. White's distinctive guitar and mandolin playing can be heard on the tracks "Do Not Disturb", "On the Spot", "Sonic Bummer", "I Must Be a Tree", "Banjo Dog", "Back Again", and "Drunkard's Dream" (the latter of which also features White contributing harmony vocals). Following completion of the Muleskinner album in April 1973, White reunited with his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. for a tour as the White Brothers (a.k.a. The New Kentucky Colonels). After playing a handful of shows in California, the White Brothers departed for Europe in May 1973. Returning to the U.S., White's final bout of touring took place with the New Kentucky Colonels in June 1973, as part of a four-date country rock package tour with Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Country Gazette, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Gene Parsons, Byron Berline, and Chris Ethridge among others. Although Gram and Clarence had been acquainted with one another since the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo sessions, the pair would develop a fast friendship during the mini-tour, after, what was by all accounts, a very acrimonious re-acquaintance. Following the end of the package tour, White entered the recording studio with producer Jim Dickson on June 28 and 29, 1973 to begin work on a solo album. He recorded a total of six songs, four of which would belatedly be released on the archival album Silver Meteor: A Progressive Country Anthology in 1980. Death White died on July 15, 1973, after being struck by a drunk driver. The accident occurred shortly after 2 a.m., while he and his brother Roland were loading equipment into their car in Palmdale, California, following a White Brothers concert. Gram Parsons was especially shaken by his death; he led a singalong of "Farther Along" at White's funeral service and later conceived his final song (before his own death), "In My Hour of Darkness", as a partial tribute to White. Clarence White was survived by his brothers Roland and Eric and sisters JoAnne and Rosemarie, and his one daughter, Michelle. Musical influence Clarence White helped popularize the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass music, building on the work of guitarists such as Doc Watson. Prior to the advent of the more aggressive flatpicking style pioneered by guitarists like Watson and White, the guitar was strictly a rhythm instrument, save for a few exceptions (such as the occasional guitar