Born in
Birmingham,
Alabama, Henry began on clarinet before choosing
baritone saxophone as his primary instrument. He continued to play clarinet throughout his career. While he was a student at
Alabama State Teachers College, he played with the
Bama State Collegians in 1930 and became a member four years later. The Collegians became the
Erskine Hawkins Orchestra when Hawkins led it. Henry was a member of the orchestra from 1934 through the 1950s. Following his period with Hawkins, Henry worked with
Tiny Grimes,
Julian Dash (1951), and the
Fletcher Henderson Reunion Band (1957–58), and occasionally substituted for
Harry Carney in the
Duke Ellington Orchestra. He played on over 1,000
rock and roll records in the 1950s and 1960s, many of them anonymously and often with
Mickey Baker. In the 1960s, he played with
Wilbur DeParis,
Max Kaminsky,
Snub Mosley,
Louis Metcalf,
Earl Hines (1969–71),
Sy Oliver (1972–80), and the
New York Jazz Repertory Company. He also worked in the orchestras of
Broadway shows such as ''
Ain't Misbehavin''' in the 1970s. He participated in an Erskine Hawkins reunion ensemble in 1971 and performed into the 1980s. Henry recorded three albums as a leader: one for Davis Records in 1957, one for Strand Records early in the 1960s, and the last for
Uptown in 1983. ==Discography==