Karla DeVito is a singer, actress and writer, best known for her solo album “Is This a Cool World or What” and the Meat Loaf “Bat Out of Hell” world tour. Her soaring voice and theatrical style make her songs unforgettable.
Karla DeVito is featured on the 2025 album “Play On: A Raspberries Tribute” which celebrates the power pop band, the Raspberries.
This tribute album salutes the Raspberries with 37 covers of their songs, co-produced by Ken Sharp and Fernando Perdomo.
Karla sings the closing track, “I Can Remember” in a rendition that showcases her vocal talent, bringing a unique interpretation to the Raspberries’ ambitious eight-minute epic with a performance as grand and heartfelt as the song itself.
The Coachella Valley Weekly review by Eleni P. Austin says: Karla DeVito has the last word on the epic “I Can Remember.” Something of a pocket Rock Opera, it closes the Raspberries debut with a flourish. Karla, best known as Meatloaf’s singing partner and for her turn on Broadway in The Pirates Of Penzance, (and for marrying my teenage crush, Robbie Benson-I forgive you Karla), deftly maneuvers the lyrical peaks and valleys. Her performance is theatrical, but neither showy or histrionic. She completely emotionally invested in the twists and turns of a whirlwind romance gone wrong. At times, she sounds like a one-woman Girl Group.
The Second Disc reviewer Joe Marchese wrote: The dreamy, eight-minute “I Can Remember” (a marked contrast to the album’s mostly compact, AM radio-length tunes) with its shades of Brian Wilson, Jimmy Webb, and Todd Rundgren; Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman collaborator Karla DeVito is up to the challenge of making its stately melody her own.
According to the Variety review, Karla DeVito nails the album’s most epic track, “I Can Remember.”
In January 2020 the title song from Karla DeVito’s 1981 album “Is This a Cool World or What?” was featured in fashion design house Moschino’s music video captured by renowned fashion photographer Steven Meisel.
The Moschino video spoofs a concert with television personality Tyra Banks introducing a girl band called Moschinorama rocking Karla’s song “Is This a Cool World or What?” while wearing Moschino Spring/Summer 2020 fashions. The featured singers in the band lip-syncing to Karla’s lyrics are super models Gigi Hadid, Imaan Hammam, Bella Hadid and Adut Akech. Get the details on the spectacular styling of the production here.
Karla DeVito grew up in Mokena, Illinois, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago, which at the time was a small farming town. From her earliest years, she showed artistic talent with her love of music and performing.
After graduating from Lincoln Way High School in New Lenox, Illinois, she enrolled at Loyola University in Chicago. Although she had a strong interest in political science and anthropology, once she was noticed by the theater community, they demanded her presence on the stage.
While in Chicago, Karla did children’s theater with Bill Murray at The Second City theater and performed in the Studebaker Theater production of “Godspell” before she joined the national touring companies of “Hair” and “Godspell”.
Her most well known role on the stage came in 1977 with the singer Meat Loaf on the “Bat Out of Hell” world tour for the album by Jim Steinman.
Watch Karla DeVito and Jim Steinman in this 1981 video of Jim’s song “Dance in My Pants”.
Jim Steinman + Karla deVito – Dance In My Pants – Promo Video from David Akerman on Vimeo.
If you love this video, subscribe to Karla’s Youtube channel.
Karla’s first solo album “Is This a Cool World or What?” was released by CBS/Epic in 1981. On her first solo tour she opened for Hall & Oates and Rick Springfield.
In 1981, she also got the female lead in Gilbert & Sullivan’s satirical opera “The Pirates of Penzance” on Broadway, first as Linda Ronstadt understudy and then replacing her in the lead role of Mabel. A short time later, Robby Benson was cast as Frederic, the male lead playing opposite Karla, and the rest is history.
They fell in love on the stage and married in 1982. Their daughter Lyric was born in 1983. Their son Zephyr followed in 1992.
One of her best known songs, which she co-wrote with her husband, Robby Benson, is We Are Not Alone from the soundtrack of the movie Breakfast Club (1985).
Karla went on to become one of MTV’s first video stars and a popular guest on the David Letterman Show.
Robby Benson and Karla also wrote songs for her second album “Wake ‘Em Up in Tokyo” released by A&M in 1986.
In 1989 the group Desolation Angels released their only album “Anthem”. Karla DeVito sings lead vocals on two tracks, “Walk Away Renee” (a cover of a 1966 The Left Banke single), and “White Bird” (It’s a Beautiful Day cover of their self-titled 1969 album).
In 1990, Karla and Robby co-starred in their first film together, Modern Love.
“Modern Love” was written and directed by Robby Benson.
For the next 15 years she appeared as a singer on the albums of other recording artists, as well as in guest roles for TV series and on the stage. In 2005 she and Robby collaborated again on stage in a musical he wrote to feature her voice, “Open Heart”.
Karla DeVito performs duet with Ellen Foley (2021)
It was at Pat Cerasaro’s 54 Below in New York City in 2015 when Karla DeVito and Ellen Foley performed for their beloved Jim Steinman and finally got to chat a gazillion years after “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” — the song that first brought each of them notoriety with its release in 1977 (Ellen sang it on the album) and then the “Bat Out of Hell” world tour and video when Karla performed it live with Meatloaf & Steinman.
Now Karla and Ellen sing Paul Foglino’s song “I’m Just Happy to Be Here” on Ellen’s new album Fighting Words (2021). The video was directed by Ryan Savini.
Watch Karla DeVito duet with Ellen Foley on Youtube
