Linda's earliest musical inspiration came when he heard popular Black American vocalist Orpheus McAdoo performing with his group, The Virginia Jubilee Singers, at Gordon Memorial School in the South African village of Msinga. Shortly after moving to Johannesburg, in the mid-'30s, Linda began singing during weekends with an acapella group. Within two years, the singers had evolved into the more professional group, Solomon Linda And The Evening Birds. With Linda's soprano lead vocals setting the pace, the group became one of the pioneers of isicathamiya, an energetic style of vocalizing characterized by doubled bass voices and exciting choreography.

Discovered by a talent scout in 1938, the Evening Birds and producer Griffith Motsieloa recorded several songs in Eric Gallo's recording studio. During their second session, "Mbube" was recorded in four takes. Copies were shipped to England as 10" 78 rpm discs and became a word-of-mouth hit, selling more than 100,000 copies by 1948. The song reached the ears of Pete Seeger through folklorist Alan Lomax. Seeger changed Linda's words, "Uyimbube, Uyimbube," to "Wimoweh" and recorded it with his group, The Weavers, in an uplifting interpretation arranged and orchestrated by Gordon Jenkins. Seeger, who sent a check for $1,000 to Linda, has continued to publicly credit Linda as the songwriter.

Although the song helped to make Linda a popular performer in South Africa, he received little compensation beyond Seeger's check. Collapsing on stage in 1959, Linda was diagnosed with kidney disease. His family has continued to blame witchcraft for his ailment. After a lengthy period spent in and out of the hospital, Linda died on October 8, 1962. It took another 18 years before a tombstone was placed on his grave.