Bogart was born in the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, central Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Ruth (Markoff) and Al M. Bogatz. His family was Jewish. He grew up in the Glenwood Houses, a housing projects in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. He was a singer in the 1960s, using the name Neil Scott, prior to running the Michigan offices of Cameo-Parkway Records. After Cameo-Parkway was shut down by the government for stock fraud in 1968, Bogart became an executive at Buddah Records. He is credited with being a key player in the rise of bubblegum pop music during his time working at Cameo-Parkway and Buddha.