Born in Germany and raised there as well, Henri Rene pursued his musical education at the Royal Academy of Music in Berlin. He moved to the United States in the mid-1920s, performing alongside various orchestras, only to head back to Berlin after several years, taking on arranging duties for a local record company. In 1936 Rene returned to America, assuming the role of musical director for the international division of RCA-Victor, and he established his personal orchestra in 1941. Following his wartime service in the Allied forces during World War II, he rejoined RCA, where he arranged and led numerous classical sessions. By the mid-1950s Rene had started releasing albums such as Music for Bachelors, Music for the Weaker Sex, Compulsion to Swing, and Riot in Rhythm, which anticipated the space-age pop style. In his capacity as producer he oversaw entries in RCA's "Stereo Action" series, along with the landmark 1956 Calypso album by Harry Belafonte and several projects involving Eartha Kitt, before departing the label in 1959 and continuing as an independent freelancer through the rest of his professional life.
