 Returning to the United States, the New Kentucky Colonels took part in a four-date country rock package tour in June 1973, with Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Country Gazette, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Gene Parsons, Byron Berline, and Chris Ethridge among others.Clarence White died on July 15, 1973, after being struck by a drunk driver, while he loaded his gear into the back of a car, in Palmdale, California, following a concert by the New Kentucky Colonels.This tragic event marked the end of the Kentucky Colonels.