[10] Fronted by Wendo's echoing and soaring vocals, the group was also famous for its dancers, called "La reine politesse" directed by Germaine Ngongolo.

[13] The combination of African lyrics and vocals with Afro-Cuban rhythms and instrumentation (particularly son cubano) spawned one of the most successful Congolese rumba.

Wendo's time on the ferries also contributed to his success as one of the first "national" artists of the DRC: he learned the music of the ethnic groups up and down the river, and later sang not only in his native tongue of Kikongo, but also in fluent Lingala and Swahili.

[11] Wendo's success rested upon the burgeoning radio stations and record industry of late colonial Leopoldville, which often piped music over loudspeakers into the African quarters, called the "Cite".

Jéronimidis, Wendo, and other musicians, barnstormed around Belgian Congo in a brightly painted Ngoma van, performing and selling records.

[15] In 1955, Wendo, along with two other singer/guitarists (Antoine Bukasa and Manuel D’Oliveira) formed an all-star orchestra known as the "Trio Bow", recording new variations on the rumba and other dance musics for Ngoma, with hits such as "Sango ya bana Ngoma", "Victoria apiki dalapo", "Bibi wangu Madeleine", "Yoka biso ban’Angola", and "Landa bango".

The murder of Prime Minister Lumumba in 1961, followed by the 1965 seizure of power by Lieutenant General Mobutu Sese Seko, soured Wendo on politics, music, and public life.

Performing with old members of his Victoria Bakolo Miziki band and his "Dancing Grannies" backup dancers, Wendo toured across the Africa and Europe, recapturing audiences in a fashion similar to the Buena Vista Social Club and Orchestra Baobab.

[19] Original members of Victoria Bakolo Miziki who returned to Wendo's reformed big band included Antoine Moundanda (thumb piano), Joseph Munange (saxophone), Mukubuele Nzoku (guitar), and Alphonse Biolo Batilangandi (trumpet).

A compilation called The very best of Congolese Rumba - The Kinshasa-Abidjan Sessions was released in 2007 with Papa Wendo and two other soukous/rumba legends; Antoine Moundanda and the Rumbanella Band.

In 2008, prior to his death, French filmmaker Jacques Sarasin released a biographical documentary about Wemba's life, entitled On the Rumba River.