When the Delphans got a contract to play in Gweru, Jonah decided to remain in Harare with the purpose of starting his own band.
In 1971, just three months into his first stint as a bandleader, he was approached by Jackson Phiri, leader of the Limpopo Jazz Band, a soukous (also known as Congolese rumba) outfit, to be their guitarist.
They played at the Zimunya Hotel, just outside Mutare for about a year before the band moved to Harare determined to land a performing contract.
Later that year, financial difficulties forced Jonah to part ways with the Blacks Unlimited, and after a second stint with the Great Sounds, he moved back to Mutare and formed a new band, The Storm.
It was the authenticity of his chimurenga sound that prompted Thomas Mapfumo to disband his Acid Jazz (with the exception of guitarist Leonard Pickett Chiyangwa) and approach Jonah in 1978 to reform the Blacks Unlimited.
Jonah played with Thomas Mapfumo and The Blacks Unlimited until 1981, and during this period the two teamed up to craft some of the most inspired songs of the chimurenga genre, including such classics as Pfumvu Paruzevha, Kuyaura, Shumba, Chitima Cherusununguko, Bhutsu Mutandarika, Chauya Chiruzevha, Dangurangu and Chipatapata.
In 1981, Jonah Sithole left the Blacks Unlimited to pursue a career as band leader with Deep Horizon.. His highlight single during that time was Kana Ndaguta (he recorded this song a decade later, but the lyric about assaulting his mother when drunk was conspicuously missing from the newer and more readily available version).
In May 1985, Thomas Mapfumo was preparing to embark on his first European tour, and he asked Jonah to rejoin the Blacks Unlimited.
Jonah's signature sound is also reflected in massive singles such as Kariba, Ngoma Yekwedu, Nyamutamba Nemombe and Tongosienda.
In 1989, Jonah Sithole left the Blacks Unlimited once more, and played as a session musician, notably with the Pied Pipers as well as with the famed 1950s era marabi singer Dorothy Masuka, who had recently returned to Zimbabwe.
However, his health declined, and days after his hospital admission, it was discovered that he was on the wrong course of treatment (malaria pills), instead of pneumonia medications.
Tichaona is also a music producer and has previously worked on projects with Zimbabwean artists like Jusa Dementor and Juss Russ.
While Jonah was fluent in many guitar styles, including rumba and afro-jazz, he is best known for his chimurenga guitar style, where he excelled in the “art of combining three- and four-beat rhythms in lyrical, flowing melodic lines.” Jonah set himself apart from other mbira-guitarists by the emotional expressiveness of his playing, which he achieved by using the mbira or vocalists to develop his guitar melodies rather that by merely accompanying the mbira or “filling in the gaps.” His album Sabhuku is filled with tracks that highlight his style (Sabhuku, Kusasana, Kana Ndaguta, Ereniya).