His first international hit, in 1948, was ""Marie-Louise"", co-written with guitarist Henri Bowane. Through the publicity of "Radio Congolia", along with the controversy which followed the song (a back-and-forth between Wendo and Henri over Wendo's pursuit of a girl, thwarted by Henri's wealth, with salacious undertones), The song is also analysed in Jesse Samba Wheeler. Rumba Lingala as Colonial Resistance, Image & Narrative, No. 10, March 2005</ref> the song became a success throughout West Africa. With its success came trouble: the song had "satanic" powers attributed to it by Catholic religious leaders. Stories from the time even claimed that the song, if played at midnight, could raise the dead. The furor drove Wendo out of Kinshasa, and resulted in a brief imprisonment by the Belgian authorities in Stanleyville and his excommunication from the Catholic Church."Evolution de la musique congolaise moderne de 1930 à 1950" (2005)Wendo est mort. A.Vungbo, Le Phare Quotidien (Kinshasa), 2008-07-30</ref> The combination of African lyrics and vocals with Afro-Cuban rhythms and instrumentation (particularly son cubano) spawned one of the most successful African musical genres: soukous, popularly known as "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.