In New York, Henry met Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, and in 1951 he accompanied the duo on some recordings for the producer Bob Shad.
The recordings were not released, and a dejected Henry returned to the Carolinas, where worked on fishing and oystering crews throughout most of the 1950s and 1960s.
In later years arthritis affected his guitar playing, so he often improvised, presenting a challenge to the local musicians backing him.
[5] Henry also attempted to preserve and record chanties he had sung with other fishermen who went out to catch menhaden for a living.
[6][7] Towards the end of his life, the Music Maker Relief Foundation provided a monthly stipend for prescription medicine and arranged for his album Beaufort Blues to be professionally produced.