Born in Colón, Panama, Cobham moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, when he was three.
His father, Manuel, worked as a hospital statistician during the week and played piano on weekends.
Cobham started playing drums at age four and joined his father four years later.
When he was fourteen, he got his first drum kit as a gift after being accepted to The High School of Music & Art in New York City.
He was drafted in 1965, and for the next three years he played with a U.S. Army band.

After his discharge, he became a member of Horace Silver's quintet.
He played an early model electric drum kit given to him by Tama Drums.
He was a house drummer for Atlantic Records and a session musician for CTI and Kudu, appearing on the albums White Rabbit by George Benson, Sunflower by Milt Jackson, and Soul Box by Grover Washington Jr.
Cobham started the jazz rock group Dreams with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Barry Rogers, and John Abercrombie.
He moved further into jazz fusion when he toured with Miles Davis and recorded Davis's albums Bitches Brew and A Tribute to Jack Johnson.
In 1971, he and guitarist John McLaughlin left Davis to start the Mahavishnu Orchestra, another group that fused rock, funk, and jazz.
Cobham toured extensively from 1971 to 1973 with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which released two studio albums, The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) and Birds of Fire (1973), and one live album, Between Nothingness & Eternity (1973).
The studio versions of songs on the live album were released on The Lost Trident Sessions (1999).

Cobham's debut album, Spectrum (1973), surprised him and his record company when it reached No.
1 on the Billboard magazine Jazz Albums chart and No.
26 on the Top 200 Albums chart.
Cobham started experimenting with different drum equipment; in 1974 for Crosswinds he used a fiberglass shell snare built for Cobham by Al Duffy, and he used Duffy's custom chain-drive kick drum pedal.
In another experiment, drum roadie Jeff Ocheltree helped Cobham convert the inner snares from the usual thin steel springs to teflon-covered cables.
Cobham's massive drum kit in the mid-1970s, based on a clear acrylic set by Fibes Drums, contained two Fibes kick drums, a custom Duffy/Ocheltree snare, two flared-shell rack toms by North Drums, four Fibes rack toms, two Fibes floor toms, two gong drums by Duffy/Ocheltree, a hi-hat, five Zildjian cymbals, and one hanging 36-inch gong.
This expansive kit and Cobham's dynamic style influenced later drummers.

In 1980, he worked with Jack Bruce in Jack Bruce & Friends.
For this group, Cobham used a very large custom drum kit designed for him by Tama Drums, featuring three kick drums with linked pedals, and three snares including a piccolo snare and a Hinger Space Tone expanding snare.
Cobham said this kit adapted to fit the music, and the music adapted to fit the kit – "a continual chicken–egg–chicken scenario."
On October 30, 1980, he joined the Grateful Dead during the band's concert at Radio City Music Hall.
He performed a long drum solo session with the band's two percussionists, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, also known as the Rhythm Devils.
In 1981, Billy Cobham's Glass Menagerie was formed with Michał Urbaniak on violin and EWI, Gil Goldstein on piano, Tim Landers on bass, and Mike Stern on guitar.
Dean Brown replaced Stern when he left to play with Miles Davis.
Glass Menagerie released two albums for Elektra Musician.

In 1984, he played in the band Bobby and the Midnites, a side project for Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, with Bobby Cochran and Kenny Gradney, and recorded the album Where the Beat Meets the Street.

Cobham moved to Switzerland in 1985.

In 1994, he joined an all-star cast Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and the results appeared on the album Stanley Clarke, Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Najee and Deron Johnson Live at the Greek.
The concert was predominantly Clarke's music, but all the musicians contributed material.

In 2006, Cobham released Drum 'n' Voice 2, a return to the 1970s jazz-funk sound, with guests including Brian Auger, Guy Barker, Jeff Berlin, Frank Gam
Born in Colón, Panama, Cobham moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, when he was three. His father, Manuel, worked as a hospital statistician during the week and played piano on weekends. Cobham started playing drums at age four and joined his father four years later. When he was fourteen, he got his first drum kit as a gift after being accepted to The High School of Music & Art in New York City. He was drafted in 1965, and for the next three years he played with a U.S. Army band.
After his discharge, he became a member of Horace Silver's quintet. He played an early model electric drum kit given to him by Tama Drums. He was a house drummer for Atlantic Records and a session musician for CTI and Kudu, appearing on the albums White Rabbit by George Benson, Sunflower by Milt Jackson, and Soul Box by Grover Washington Jr.
Cobham started the jazz rock group Dreams with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Barry Rogers, and John Abercrombie. He moved further into jazz fusion when he toured with Miles Davis and recorded Davis's albums Bitches Brew and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. In 1971, he and guitarist John McLaughlin left Davis to start the Mahavishnu Orchestra, another group that fused rock, funk, and jazz. Cobham toured extensively from 1971 to 1973 with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which released two studio albums, The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) and Birds of Fire (1973), and one live album, Between Nothingness & Eternity (1973). The studio versions of songs on the live album were released on The Lost Trident Sessions (1999).
Cobham's debut album, Spectrum (1973), surprised him and his record company when it reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Jazz Albums chart and No. 26 on the Top 200 Albums chart. Cobham started experimenting with different drum equipment; in 1974 for Crosswinds he used a fiberglass shell snare built for Cobham by Al Duffy, and he used Duffy's custom chain-drive kick drum pedal. In another experiment, drum roadie Jeff Ocheltree helped Cobham convert the inner snares from the usual thin steel springs to teflon-covered cables. Cobham's massive drum kit in the mid-1970s, based on a clear acrylic set by Fibes Drums, contained two Fibes kick drums, a custom Duffy/Ocheltree snare, two flared-shell rack toms by North Drums, four Fibes rack toms, two Fibes floor toms, two gong drums by Duffy/Ocheltree, a hi-hat, five Zildjian cymbals, and one hanging 36-inch gong. This expansive kit and Cobham's dynamic style influenced later drummers.
In 1980, he worked with Jack Bruce in Jack Bruce & Friends. For this group, Cobham used a very large custom drum kit designed for him by Tama Drums, featuring three kick drums with linked pedals, and three snares including a piccolo snare and a Hinger Space Tone expanding snare. Cobham said this kit adapted to fit the music, and the music adapted to fit the kit – "a continual chicken–egg–chicken scenario." On October 30, 1980, he joined the Grateful Dead during the band's concert at Radio City Music Hall. He performed a long drum solo session with the band's two percussionists, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, also known as the Rhythm Devils. In 1981, Billy Cobham's Glass Menagerie was formed with Michał Urbaniak on violin and EWI, Gil Goldstein on piano, Tim Landers on bass, and Mike Stern on guitar. Dean Brown replaced Stern when he left to play with Miles Davis. Glass Menagerie released two albums for Elektra Musician.
In 1984, he played in the band Bobby and the Midnites, a side project for Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, with Bobby Cochran and Kenny Gradney, and recorded the album Where the Beat Meets the Street.
Cobham moved to Switzerland in 1985.
In 1994, he joined an all-star cast Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and the results appeared on the album Stanley Clarke, Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Najee and Deron Johnson Live at the Greek. The concert was predominantly Clarke's music, but all the musicians contributed material.
In 2006, Cobham released Drum 'n' Voice 2, a return to the 1970s jazz-funk sound, with guests including Brian Auger, Guy Barker, Jeff Berlin, Frank Gam
Billy Cobham