Editing Gram Parsons (section)

===Solo career and touring with Emmylou Harris (1970–1973)===
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In early 1970, Parsons signed a solo deal with A&M Records and moved in with producer [[Terry Melcher]].{{sfn|Meyer|2007|pp=337-342}} The two shared a penchant for cocaine and heroin, and the sessions were largely unproductive, with Parsons eventually losing interest in the project. The master tapes were lost; it is unclear who took them.{{sfn|Meyer|2007|pp=340-341}}
 
Parsons accompanied the Rolling Stones on their [[The Rolling Stones UK Tour 1971|1971 U.K. tour]] in the hope of being signed to the newly-formed [[Rolling Stones Records]]. He lived at Richards' French villa [[Nellcôte]] during the recording of ''[[Exile on Main Street]]'', though he contributed little to the process. His drug use and constant quarrelling with his girlfriend, Gretchen Burrell, led to a request to leave by Richards' girlfriend, [[Anita Pallenberg]]. Parsons attempted to rekindle his relationship with the band on their [[The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972|1972 American tour]], to no avail.

Parsons returned to the US for a one-off concert with the Burritos. In  [[Washington, D.C.]], he met [[Emmylou Harris]] and asked her to join him in Los Angeles to record his first solo album. It came as a surprise to many when Parsons was signed to [[Reprise Records]] by [[Mo Ostin]] in mid-1972. The ensuing ''[[GP (album)|GP]]'' (1973) featured several members of [[Elvis Presley]]'s [[TCB Band]]. It included six new songs from Parsons alongside several country covers, including [[Tompall Glaser]]'s "[[Streets of Baltimore]]" and [[George Jones]]' "[[That's All It Took]]". 

Parsons, now featuring Harris as his duet partner, toured across the U.S. as Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels in February–March 1973. Unable to afford the TCB Band, the group featured guitarists [[Jock Bartley]] and [[Larry Coryell]], [[Neil Flanz]] on pedal steel, bassist Kyle Tullis, and drummer [[N.D. Smart]]. The touring party also included Parsons' new wife, Gretchen Parsons, who was envious of Harris and her young daughter. Coordinating the spectacle as road manager was [[Phil Kaufman (producer)|Phil Kaufman]], who had served time with [[Charles Manson]] on [[Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island|Terminal Island]] but who ensured that the performer stayed clear of drugs and limited his [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] intake during shows. At first, the band was under-rehearsed and played poorly; however, they improved with steady gigging and received rapturous responses at several counter-cultural venues, including [[Armadillo World Headquarters]] in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Max's Kansas City]] in New York City, and [[Liberty Hall (Houston, Texas)|Liberty Hall]] in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], where [[Neil Young]] and [[Linda Ronstadt]] sat in for a filmed performance. Nevertheless, the tour failed to galvanize sales of ''[[GP (album)|GP]]'', which never charted in the ''Billboard'' 200.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/search/artists/gram+parsons|title=Artist Search for "gram parsons"|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=19 December 2017}}</ref>

For his next and final album, 1974's posthumously released ''[[Grievous Angel]]'', Parsons used Harris and members of the TCB Band. The record received more enthusiastic reviews than ''GP''. Although Parsons only contributed two new songs to the album ("In My Hour of Darkness" and "[[Return of the Grievous Angel]]"), he was reportedly enthusiastic with his new sound and seemed to have finally adopted a diligent mindset to his musical career, limiting his intake of alcohol and opiates during most of the sessions. ''Grievous Angel'' peaked at number 195 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' chart.

Before recording, Parsons and Harris played a preliminary four-show mini-tour as the headline act in a June 1973 [[Warner Records]] country rock package with the [[Kentucky Colonels (band)|New Kentucky Colonels]] and [[Country Gazette (band)|Country Gazette]]. A shared backing band included [[Clarence White]], [[Pete Kleinow]] and [[Chris Ethridge]]. On July 15, 1973, White was killed by a drunk driver in [[Palmdale, California]], while loading equipment in his car for a concert with the New Kentucky Colonels.<ref>"Car kills Topanga musician", ''Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram'', Monday, July 16, 1973, p. 13 (A Topanga musician loading instruments aboard his van was struck and killed Sunday...")</ref> At White's funeral, Parsons and [[Bernie Leadon]] performed a rendition of "[[Farther Along (song)|Farther Along]]"; that evening, Parsons reportedly informed Phil Kaufman of his final wish: to be cremated in [[Joshua Tree National Park]].