Recording artist Scott Weiland promotes his new book "Not Dead & Not For Sale" at Barnes & Noble Union Square in this May 17, 2011, file photo in New York City. AFP

AFP/ Washington

 Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer of popular "grunge" rock acts Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, has died at the age of 48.

The death of Weiland -- a two-time recipient of the music industry's Grammy award -- was reported on the singer's Facebook page early Friday.

The singer "passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts," the Facebook post read.

"At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott's family be respected."

He had been scheduled to perform with his new band, Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts, when he was found dead in the group's tour bus, news reports said.

Tributes on Friday hailed Weiland as a rock original, and a legend of grunge music -- the alternative rock style that became popular during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in Seattle and elsewhere on the US west coast.

The online music site Consequence of Sound wrote Friday that "Weiland will undoubtedly be remembered as one of alt-rock's greatest yet troubled frontmen."

The Recording Academy, which awards the Grammys each year, hailed Weiland as a groundbreaking music innovator.

"Scott Weiland was a grunge icon and a true modern day, rock and roll front man," the group's CEO Neil Portnow said in a astatement.

"From the massive success he achieved as the original lead vocalist of Stone Temple Pilots to his work with rock supergroup Velvet Revolver and his most recent venture with the Wildabouts, Scott's extraordinary talent and captivating performances will forever live on and inspire legions of rock fans worldwide."

Weiland formed Stone Temple Pilots with friends more than two decades ago. Their first album "Core" came out in 1992.

But he suffered from substance abuse issues and left the band.

In 2003 he joined Velvet Revolver but quit in 2008, reportedly because of more personal issues.

"I'm still on the verge all the time," he told USA Today in 2011 of his struggle with addiction. 

"I swore, of course, never to go back to heroin but I never thought that alcohol would be the real nightmare that it actually is. And it's legal."

Weiland had two children with his ex-wife Mary Forsberg. 

News reports said he married photographer Jamie Wachtel Weiland in 2013.