He was the son of Vito Cesare and Antonia Ricca Caballone. He studied with Gaetano Veneziano and Giuliano Perugino at the Neapolitan Conservatory of Santa Maria di Loreto. In 1716, he married Teresa Muscettola, whose sister Antonia married violinist Francesco Barbella and was the mother of violin virtuoso Emanuele Barbella. Burney claims the famous violinist first learned counterpoint from Caballone. The only one of Caballone's sons to follow him as a musician was Gaspare, who later replaced his last name with "Gabellone'. The life and works of Michele are sometimes confused with those of his son; moreover, some sources erroneously claim that he was the teacher of the singer Faustina Bordoni (later wife of the famous Johann Adolf Hasse), who in fact studied under Michelangelo Gasparini.
Caballone is not known to have had a regular teaching career, and he died in poverty. Toward the end of his life he became a novice in the ''Congregazione dei Musici'' fraternity in Naples, and after his death the friars there paid for his funeral and burial. The cost was equal to that of full membership, which is probably an indication of the prestige he enjoyed among professionals.
