Hundreds of books have been written about Elvis Presley.  Yes, hundreds.  I’ve read quite a few, including what many consider to be the definite two-volume Elvis biography, Peter Guralnick’s two-volume “Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love.”

But here are some things I never knew (or had forgotten) about the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, I learned from reading  Joel Williamson’s well-received new biography “Elvis Presley:  A Southern Life.”

Elvis Presley, Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner were all born within 75 miles of one another in northeastern Mississippi.

Elvis’ father, Vernon, spent the better part of nine months in a state prison for check forgery.  Somehow, most of the public never knew about it until after Elvis’ death. Along with his mother, as a youngster of 3 or 4, Elvis visited his father at the Mississippi prison farm several times.

From his earlier days as a performer, Elvis wore mascara on stage and sometimes off.

I always assumed that “Colonel” Tom Parker was rather inept at managing Elvis.  To the contrary, Joel Williamson maintains that, especially early on, Parker moved Elvis’ career rather brilliantly from records and personal appearances to television to movies.

After his son’s death, Vernon Presley got part of the Graceland estate legally designated a cemetery.  In that by law all cemeteries in Tennessee have to be reasonably available for any interested parties, early in the morning before Graceland opens to paying customers, anyone can visit Elvis’s gravesite without charge.

Eventually, Elvis would sell in the neighborhood of 2 two billion records.

In his career, Elvis won only two Grammy awards, both for gospel albums.