Grant McLennan, cofounder of the Australian folk-pop band the Go-Betweens and one of the seminal Aussie singer-songwriters, died in his sleep after an apparent heart attack Saturday at his home in Brisbane. He was 48.

McLennan is widely regarded as one of the most important Australian artists ever, credited with helping bring Australian music to a bigger stage in the 1980s.

The news was first posted on the band's Web site.

"McLennan was a passionate supporter of the arts, extremely well-read, and maintained a keen interest in all contemporary music, cinema and visual art," the post read. "He was an exceptionally charming and polite man who endeared himself to everyone who met him and was one of the rare individuals worthy of the epithet 'larger than life.'"

"His singular contribution to music and his commitment to his craft simply cannot be overstated," the site continued. "He will be deeply missed by all who knew him."

McLennan cofounded the Go-Betweens with his songwriting partner Robert Forster in the late 1970s after the pair met at school in Brisbane. They duo would go on to be lifelong friends and songwriting partners, releasing six albums as the Go-Betweens from 1981 to 1989.

They never attained commercial success but were widely praised for their stellar songwriting. Music critic Robert Christgau once hailed the McLennan-Forster combo as "the greatest songwriting partnership working today."

Their most famous song, "Cattle and Cane," was recently named one of the 10 greatest Australian songs of all time by the Australian Performing Rights Association (APRA).

After splitting with Forster, McLennan recorded four solo albums under the name GW McLennan, and also formed the band Jack Frost with Steve Kilbey of the Church.

The pair reunited after a 10-year hiatus, releasing The Friends of Rachel Worth, recorded in Portland, Oregon, with backing help from the members of Sleater-Kinney.

The duo's longtime label, Beggars Banquet, released a Go-Betweens compilation in the early 1990s, and reissued the Go-Betweens' first six albums on CD in 1996.

McLennan is survived by his mother, sister, brother, and girlfriend Emma.