Stonehouse from England were formed in 1970 in Plymouth, Devon, on the initiative of guitarist and singer Pete Spearing. The quartet also included singer James Smith, bassist Terry Parker and drummer Ian Snow. After a few gigs playing some of their own heavy rock tracks, they were offered a record deal by the major label RCA in June. They recorded their debut album at Command Studios in London in just three days. Alongside producer Mickey Clarke, who had previously produced the albums Pre-Flight by Room and Time Is... by Raw Material, Barry Ainsworth served as sound engineer.

RCA Victor released the album Stonehouse Creek, named after a locality near Plymouth, in October 1971. The cover artwork, featuring a stone surface engraved with the band’s name, the title and the year of release, was created by the legendary designer and photographer Keith MacMillan, known by his stage name Keef. Apart from the acoustic title track, this album consists of solid, hard boogie-rock from the early 1970s, as well as hard rock with blues influences and occasional psychedelic elements.

In that musical landscape of the time, which was crowded with many bands, the sound came across as conventional and predictable despite the excellent production, and compared to other hard rock bands of the early 1970s, it seemed rather like an imitation. That might have been the reason why their first and only LP went completely unnoticed, after which the band split up shortly after its release. What remains is a rare and now highly sought-after classic heavy rock album.