[2] Chimbetu was born in the Musengezi area of Mbire District in Mashonaland Province of Southern Rhodesia, on 23 September 1955.

During the Rhodesian Bush War, Chimbetu went to Tanzania to join the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which employed him as an entertainer for its guerrillas in exile.

Chimbetu worked for a tobacco processing company for many years after the attainment of Zimbabwe's internationally recognised independence in 1980.

Together, the siblings penned songs like "Dr Nero"(Naison) and "Nherera"(Simon) which gave them visibility on the Zimbabwean music scene.

"Samatenga" stayed at the number one spot for a long time; it was somewhat prophetic in that the suffering it describes was mirrored in Simon's own life soon after when he was arrested for theft/receiving stolen property.

Chimbetu realised greater success when he went solo, recording classics like "Kuipa Chete", "Ngoma Yanditora Moyo", "Mwana Wedangwe", "Southern Africa" and many others.

What also distinguished Simon from many other sungura/museve artists at this time and throughout his career was that his music focused on contemporary social and political topics.

At the peak of his popularity, he spent four years in jail and thereafter, rumours hit in 2002 that he hadn't paid his own farm workers for months.

In "Zuva Raenda", (the sun is setting) Chimbetu laments the delays in redistributing the land from white to black Zimbabweans.

A younger brother who was already part of the Orchestra Dendera Kings, Allan, fronted the band for a while before Suluman Chimbetu, Simon's second eldest son took over.