Simeon and his family moved from New Orleans to Chicago in 1914 and like so many other great clarinet players, he took lessons from Lorenzo Tio Jr. who had also relocated to Chicago. He played in his brother Al Simeon's Hot Six , then worked with Charlie Elgar's Creole Orchestra from 1923 to 1927. Simeon recorded frequently with Jelly Roll Morton and was featured on "Black Bottom Stomp." He toured with King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators in 1927 and then rejoined Elgar's Orchestra. He went to New York in 1928 and worked briefly with Luis Russell and Jelly Roll Morton, but he returned to Chicago later that year to play with Erskine Tate. In 1931 he joined the Earl Hines Orchestra and stayed with him until 1941. He became a member of Jimmie Lunceford's orchestra in 1942 and was with them until 1950. Simeon recorded some Dixieland records with Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra in 1944 and 1945. He spent most of his later years with Wilbur de Paris, recording prolifically with that band.